So We Meet Again
by GrittyRe-boot
Summary: AU: Finn is the newest member of an elite group of superheroes, protecting the streets of Lima city from the Evil Sindicate, run by the Ruthless Sue Sylvester. Can he help take them down once and for all? Or will the dreaded L word be his Kryptonite?
1. Prologue

**This is an idea I got from the song Then Again, Maybe Not by the incredible Seattle based nerdcore rock band Kirby Krackle, look up the song on Youtube, it really is wonderfully catchy, although I'm going to have to advise you to listen to it after you read this chapter, not before. Considering my love for comics I'm pretty surprised that this is the first superhero themed glee fic I've written, but better late than never right? This is also the first story I've ever written in the first person, which ought to be fun. Also, the last chapter of A Home At The End Of The World should be up tomorrow.**

She's escaped, Headcase has escaped the clutches of McKinley penitentiary, after everything I went through putting her away, all of the broken bones and mind games, she's escaped. Taking her in was my greatest victory, my one chance to prove myself. To tell the truth I've always had a feeling that I didn't quite belong. The Peace Patrol is an elite team of the most powerful beings on earth, Socialite Quinn Fabray, AKA Ice Queen, with her remarkable freezing powers, retired Athlete Noah Puckerman, who has gone by Dr. Damage ever since he was forced to leave the NFL when he discovered his super strength and invulnerability, pet psychologist Dr. Brittany Pierce who would probably be considered a hack in her day job if it weren't for her hidden talent of animal communication , Santana Lopez, who fought for justice by day as a district attorney and by night as Tantrum, a bona fide pyrokinetic, professional dancer Mike Chang, codename Kid Kinetic, who's dancing talents are aided by his superhuman speed and agility and Sam Evans, also known as Simpatico, an empath who's ability to feel the feelings of others has proven very useful in a team that lacks a proper psychic.

I would kill to have even Sam's powers, as of now I'm the only member of the Peace Patrol without a superpower to his name, but what I lack in powers I make up for in fighting ability, skill with weapons and gadgets, and almost obsessive persistence, I was the only one in years capable of catching Headcase, the most powerful member of the Sindicate, the most notorious active crime group in the United States. The day I put her away was the day I officially became a part of the group, once a promising young cop, I left the corrupt force I worked for and dedicated my life to fighting crime on my own terms as a street vigilante, before long the Peace Patrol sought me out, thinking it was easier to take me under their wing then try to stop me, but it took putting away Headcase for good for me to truly earn their respect, well, everyone except for Santana that is, and now Headcase is once again free to terrorize the streets of Lima City, and even if I had no way of stopping her from getting out I'll be damned if she's going to stay out.

"This is bad," Santana says, as she shuts off the news report playing in the Peace Patrol meeting room. "Putting away that bitch was the biggest pain in the ass we've ever had to deal with, now she's out, it's like we can't win with these scumbags."

"Look Tantrum, we caught her once we can do it again," Quinn says confidently.

"And you don't think she's going to up her defenses this time? It was pure dumb luck that we got her in the first place."

"Thanks Santana," I say sarcastically.

"We use codenames here numbnuts," She says, Santana really has never been my biggest fan.

"My codename isn't numbnuts Tantrum," I shoot back.

"Fine, Gadget," she complies, saying my codename like it's a bad word. "Really doesn't make you seem any less useless to be honest."

"Come on Tantrum, be nice," Sam says. "I know you're not really as mean as you let on, your feelings are my feelings remember? You're just scared is all."

"I'm not scared of her," Santana says unconvincingly. Santana never liked the way Headcase could read her thoughts and say them right back to her like it was nothing, she was so used to being guarded that being around people who could pick apart her every thought was unsettling to say the least. That's why it took her so long to warm up to Sam, he couldn't read her thoughts but he could read her emotions, which for her was even worse.

"Look, I'll take care of it alright, I know how her mind works, I may not be the smartest guy who ever lived-

"That's putting it mildly," Santana says, interrupting me.

"But I know people, I know her." I say firmly, ignoring Santana's comment. It's true, I was the best interrogator in my precinct, I'm not a psychic like Headcase or an empath like Sam, but I have intuition on my side.

"What makes you so sure you can catch her a second time?" Quinn says.

"Because I was the only one who could pull it off the first time."

"He's right," Mike adds. "If anyone's going to have a shot of bringing her in it'll be him."

"What am I chopped liver?" Santana says. "Unlike him I have actual powers."

"We're not trying to kill the woman," Puck says. "Besides, you remember what happened the last time you faced off against her, you couldn't handle it."

"And he can," Santana says gesturing toward him flippantly.

"He did," Puck shoots back.

"Look guys," Quinn says calmly. "With Headcase locked up we had a real chance to take down the Sindicate once and for all. If we're going to have a shot at taking her in again it's going to have to be a group effort. Sam, didn't you say that everyone's soul feels different? Maybe you can use your empathy to get a track on her."

"I can try but it may take awhile," Sam says. "Especially if she's already far away."

"Get on it," Quinn says. "Until then I'll call special agent Anderson to see if he has any leads and Gadget and Damage will be on stakeout at their headquarters."

Puck and I nod in agreement while Santana simply groans.

* * *

><p>The day I got my Peace Patrol uniform was the day my life changed forever, and I'm reminded every time I put myself into my customized body armor, affix the retractable glider I made myself to my back, strap on my fully loaded utility belt and secure my black mask to my face. I sometimes think I'll never get used to this, the superhero thing, but tonight isn't the night to dwell on it, tonight is the night I go after the one who got away. If I have to I'll stake out with Puck at midnight as planned, but for now I know exactly where to find her, and I have to act alone.<p>

I scale the rooftops of the Lima City skyline with an effortlessness gained from years of training, I don't break a sweat as I make my way to my destination. The only place I know she'll be. To tell the truth I'm a little nervous, bringing her in the first time nearly killed me, now she's likely to be even more pissed off than she was then. rumor has it she can kill you with her mind if she wants to, just make your heart stop beating with a narrowing of her eyes. She wouldn't kill me would she? She's had more than enough chances to, she's left me bloodied and broken so many times but she's left me alive, now there's no telling what she'll do.

I pull my glider as I leap off the roof, letting the wind carry me up to the roof of Sylvester towers, the last place I ever saw her as a free woman. I land on my feet and one hand with a light thud and stand up straight, pulling the wings of my glider back down while I scan the roof for any sign of her.

"_I will escape, and when I do, we're going to finish this, once and for all." _I remember her words so clearly in my head, and they send a chill down my spine. But I stand my ground, I can't chicken out now, everybody is counting on me, if I let them down I'll only be proving Santana right, I can't let Headcase win, and I certainly can't let Santana win.

"So we meet again." That voice, it sounds the same, but of course why wouldn't it? She's been locked up for less than a year. I can't tell where the voice is coming from though, where could she be? It's dark but I can still see pretty clearly, even without the night vision lenses on my mask.

"I'm behind you silly," she continues. I can't believe it, how did she get behind me so fast? How did I not hear? This is already getting off to a bad start, but she hasn't hit me yet, that's something. I turn slowly, carefully and look my old nemesis up and down, once again decked out in her leather uniform and red mask, it's a much better look than her prison get-up that's for sure, more appropriate for the situation at hand.

"I promised I'd get out, and I never break a promise," she says coolly.

"Your reading my mind right now aren't you?" I say.

"Maybe," she replies.

"What am I thinking?" I say, wondering silently why she hasn't struck yet.

"Well I can tell you what you should be thinking," she says, ice in her voice. "I should be running."

And at that she strikes, aiming for my face, but before she can punch me I grab her fist in my hand, squeezing it, making her recoil in pain, but she shakes it off and strikes with her knee, catching me hard in the groin, the body armor protects me, but not enough to keep me from distractedly dropping her hand, which she then uses to punch again, this time hitting her target, her fist hitting me hard in the face. She was always the overachiever this one, godlike psychic powers weren't enough, she had to learn how to fight like a beast too, but as good as she is at the hand to hand combat, I'm better. I ignore the pain in my jaw and hit back, sending her to the ground, she doesn't stay down long, she leaps to her feet and rushes at me, kicking and punching with all her might as I dodge and hit back, our bodies in a graceful, yet brutal dance. Her hits are quick and effective, slowing me down but not stopping me, after awhile of this I can taste blood, and my vision is blurred, but she isn't in great shape either, her face is bloody and there is fire in her eyes as she strikes at me again, slower now, weakened by my assault on her body, it will only take one final strike to send her down for good, but I don't want to knock her out, there's a lot to say and I need her conscious to hear it, so instead I tackle her to the ground, trapping her body under my giant one.

"You bastard," She says, struggling against me without much success.

"So," I say, out of breath but feeling pretty accomplished. "What am I thinking?"

She rolls her eyes and lets out a long sigh. "She's beautiful," she says, defeated.

"As ever," I add, brushing her dark hair out of her bruised face, and I close the distance between us then in a kiss I've been dreaming about since the night I sent her to jail.

**So when did you figure out that Headcase was Rachel? I hope it wasn't right away. Anywhoo, Stay tuned folks!**


	2. Hero Boy

**I know I said I would post the last Chapter of A Home At The End Of The World today, but it will probably go up tomorrow, I'm more than halfway done with it. A new chapter of Jack and Sally should be up soon too, I'm just so excited about this story that I wanted to get a new chapter up ASAP but I absolutely have not forgotten about the others.**

I wince slightly as she cleans my wounds, the ones she gave me like so many times before, her own have been cleaned and bandaged, now she takes the time to fix me up in silence. It's the closest we'll ever have to a tender moment, nursing each other back to health after we've thoroughly beaten the crap out of each other.

I wince again as she dabs the gash over my eyebrow with alcohol, causing her to roll her eyes at me.

"Men," she scoffs, "You can handle the most savage of beatings yet you act like a little baby over a bit of alcohol."

"I wouldn't call that beating savage," I tease, making her glare at me a bit. "I swear you were going easy on me back there."

"What can I say, I missed you," she says, shrugging. "Sometimes it's acceptable to use a light touch, you on the other hand are just a big bully," she continues, rubbing the purple bruise I left beneath her collarbone. "I'm definitely going to feel this in the morning."

I give her a small smile and grab her hand away, weaving her fingers between mine as I rest my other hand on her hip, and I look into her huge brown eyes as I press my lips to her collarbone, kissing the spot where I hurt her as she cradles my head in her hand.

"Mmm, that feels nice," she says as I run my lips over the tender spot, and I move away again, looking into those eyes again, so beautiful and innocent, not the eyes of a monster.

"How about here?" she says quietly, lifting her tank top to expose the bruise along her ribs, and I comply, kissing her there softly, making her shiver. "And here?" she sighs, her eyes fluttering closed as she points to her upper thigh, and I move my lips there as my hand moves lower, cupping her firm ass as I soothe her with my mouth.

"God, you don't know how long it's been" she says.

"Ten months…" I say, kissing her along her hip, "Three weeks…" I continue, moving to the soft skin beneath her belly button. "Six days." And at that I stand up before her, towering over her tiny frame as I remove her tank top.

"Almost a year," she says, running her hands along my chest. "I need this."

She doesn't even have to ask, I sweep her up into my arms then, cradling her body against mine, she's naked aside from her panties, and her state of undress makes her seem so much smaller, more fragile than the dangerous criminal I've grown to know, and as I lay her down on the bed she looks up at me as if she's almost nervous, she's a puzzle this one. I kiss her then, long and deep, tasting her full, soft lips again, plunging my tongue into her eager mouth.

She breaks the kiss, panting a little. "Take my panties off hero boy," she whispers into my ear, and I hover over her, curling my fingers over her waistband and pulling them down slowly as she raises her hips off the bed. I take off my own underwear then, tossing it aside where it lands on my uniform.

Without our clothes were no longer Gadget vs. Headcase, we're just Finn and… well, I don't know her real name, no one does. I kiss her again, and she wraps her arms around me, pulling me closer, our naked bodies pressed together so close it's as if were the same person, when the truth is we couldn't be more different. How did I end up here? The hero about to make love to his arch nemesis? The truth is I was a goner from the start, from the very first rooftop battle. It was before the Peace Patrol, back in my vigilante days when I was still known as The Midnight Man, when I played by my own rules, like her, but we were still on opposite sides of the law, and I had to protect my city.

She was going to steal the Marymount diamond that night, using her mind control powers to get past the guards, she'd succeeded at getting out of the building, but she didn't count on having to get past me.

_She ran fast atop the building, hellbent on getting back to the headquarters with the diamond, but I'd gotten rather good at hiding away in the shadows, she didn't see me coming as I clotheslined her in one swift move, leaving her too disoriented to get away before I could cuff her to a pipe._

"_You're the one the papers have been talking about aren't you?" she said as I kneeled before her and she tried to struggle her way out of the cuffs, even with her angry face she was a beauty, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't noticed how gorgeous she was, even as I put all of my energy into trying to put her behind bars. "You have some balls hero boy."_

"_Give me the diamond Headcase," I said. "I know you took it."_

"_You're cute," she said sarcastically. "Do you really think you're any match for me? I can so easily control you into letting me out of these cuffs."_

"_If that were true you would have done it already," I said confidently. "But you hit your head pretty hard on that pavement, I'm thinking those nifty powers of yours won't be of much use to you for at least another two minutes. Mind control was never your strongest ability in the first place, that's Control Freak's forte. You on the other hand need total clarity for it to work."_

"_What do you want it for anyway?" She said, skirting the issue. "It's not like the wealthy ignoramuses that own it really need the money."_

"_And what about the rich ignoramus you work for?" I shot back. "What does she need it for other than to make more strides toward enslaving the city? Or is it not your job to ask questions?"_

"_I work for myself," she argued. _

"_So it doesn't bother you that you're helping an evil organization?"_

"_Evil is a strong term," she said._

"_Well, either way, I'm taking the diamond," I said. "I may not be able to read your mind but I know how it works." at that I pulled her close and reached around her back, finding the diamond in a satchel strapped to her belt._

"_Good for you," she said as I inspected the bauble. "You confirmed what you already knew. And by the way, it's been two minutes."_

_I could feel her grab a hold of my mental defenses then, but her control over me still felt weak, before I could feel her bend my will completely I had to find a way to distract her, to stop her in her tracks, and I didn't know what came over me then, maybe I was simply desperate to stop her from using my brain as a puppet, or maybe part of me thought the whole bad girl act of hers was pretty sexy, either way I crushed my lips to hers, it felt more effective than hitting her again, a punch to the face she would expect. _

_I broke the kiss after a few moments, but it was pure torture to do so, because the truth was, despite the situation, it was the best goddamn kiss I'd ever had, by far, the way her lips moved against mine, the taste of her mouth, the way her kiss sent shockwaves through my whole body, the way she ran her fingers through my hair… wait how exactly did she do that with her hands cuffed to a pipe? Before I had a chance to figure out what was happening she had punched me in the face, hard, her tiny body was capable of packing a pretty powerful blow._

"_Silly boy," she said as she stood over me, jangling the keys to my handcuffs in my face, and I tried to get up again but not before she sent me back down with another solid punch. "I really do think you underestimated my so-called nifty powers, I bet you think that kiss was your idea don't you?" It wasn't? I thought to myself, it certainly didn't feel like she was hypnotizing me into kissing her, it felt like a strategy, it even felt like I wanted it, could she do that? Or was the desire already there, maybe she just forced me to act on it, but why? There were so many other ways she could have controlled me, she could have made me unlock the cuffs myself the way she threatened. But instead she made me kiss her while she took my keys and let herself free, and it was amazing, and I wanted to do it again, but I couldn't think about that, the only thing that mattered was catching her and turning her in._

_I leapt to my feet, ready to attack, but before I could make a move she narrowed her eyes at me again, stopping me in my tracks, I felt it this time, her control over me, making me stand there helplessly, if she was truly this good at mind manipulation Control Freak must have been a freaking genius at it, or maybe she just didn't need to be that good at it with me, maybe I was just naturally vulnerable to her, especially after that kiss._

"_I'm sorry," she said as I stood there helplessly. "You did the best you could, but I'm afraid I'm a little out of your league." She walked up to me, grabbing the diamond out of my grasp and she wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me again. "Goodnight hero boy," she whispered into my mouth, and with that she was gone._

And now, after so many rooftop battles, so many foiled robberies and foiled robbery foils here we lay, our naked bodies twisted in the sheets, thoroughly exhausted from our activities, and I know it's wrong, I'm supposed to be a hero, I'm supposed to be stopping her not loving her, not kissing her tenderly as I move in and out of her with affection, not anger or frustration. But the night she kissed me, or I kissed her, or she made me kiss her with her mind control powers - I still haven't quite figured that out - part of me became hers forever, no matter how impossible that was.

"HC," I say softly as I run my fingers through her soft hair. "Remember when we first met?"

"Of course," she says. "I believe I vanquished you quite thoroughly that night."

"About that," I say sheepishly. "You could have killed me if you wanted to, why didn't you?"

"Because you were just so cute in your little mask and cape," she says coyly.

"It's a glider," I correct her. "And I'm being serious, you could've taken me out and you didn't, why?"

She looks at me with those big eyes again, the ones I always get lost in.

"Well, the truth is, I respected you too much."

"You respected me?" I say.

"Yeah, the whole vigilante justice thing, turning your back on a broken system, single handedly protecting the city from the likes of me, or trying to anyway."

"Hey, I put you behind bars, that happened," I argue playfully.

"Maybe I was just tired of beating you," she teases back.

"Anyway, more about how you respected me," I say teasingly.

"Emphasis on the word respected," she replies, and I knit my brow in confusion then.

"Wait, do you mean to say you don't respect me _now_?"

"Don't get me wrong Finn, being a part of the peace patrol is a huge honor, but it's not exactly you, I mean they changed your name to Gadget for chrissakes, Midnight Man was so much sexier."

"Ice Queen said the name had negative connotations because of my illegal vigilante exploits," I say, quoting Quinn. "Whatever that means."

"It means they want to fence you in, make you conform to their ways. When the truth is you're better than all of them."

I move in to kiss her again. "You give me too much credit. Besides, I can do so much more good for this city when I'm part of a team, they have resources I never could have dreamed of when I was going it alone."

"You know what I think?" She says, snuggling in closer to me. "I think you're so insecure about not having any powers that you'll do anything to make them like you, even if it means putting little ol' me away for five hard years. And that's only for the indiscretions they know about."

"Me taking you in had nothing to do with them. It was the right thing to do," I say.

"Yeah, I loved you and you betrayed me, you're a real good Samaritan," she says, rolling her eyes.

"I loved you too you know, still do," I say, pressing a light kiss to her shoulder. "That's why I had to do what I had to do, you needed to be reformed."

"So you thought you might be able to fix me? Is that it?"

"HC, they'll never let us be together if we live on opposite sides of the law, you know that." I say, sighing in frustration

"You're a grown man, nobody has to let you do anything," and at that she throws the covers off of herself and gets out of bed, her back turned to me.

I groan out loud then, "HC come back to bed, we only have so much time-

"Before you sic your superfriends on me?" she scoffs, cutting me off, and I get up then too, walking up to her from behind and rubbing her arms up and down.

"Why won't you tell me your name? Your real one?" I say softly after a few moments, not so much changing the subject as redirecting it. "I told you mine."

"Not willingly," she says, softening a little.

"But I would have," I say. "But you, you've never told me anything about yourself. Maybe if you let me in every once in awhile this wouldn't be so hard, maybe I could even help you."

"Just because I love you doesn't mean that I can trust you," she says dourly. "You proved that to me when you had me put away."

"I would have waited for you, you know," I say, and I kiss the back of her head softly "When you go back to jail I'll wait as long as it takes."

She turns around to face me, a sly smirk on her face betraying the hint of sadness in her eyes. "You'll have to catch me first." And the last thing I feel is a sharp blow to the side of my head before everything fades to black.

**Stay tuned folks!**


	3. The Sindicate

**Sorry for the short chapter, I'll try to make the next one longer.**

I have to admit, I feel bad about knocking him out, and even worse about cuffing his hands before fleeing. The truth is I'm never lying when I say that I love him, in fact he's the only man I've ever loved and the only person I've never lied to, but his duty to his Superfriends will always be the thing that keeps us apart. He'll never admit how important it is for him to impress those Justice League rejects and I don't have time to make him see the light, that they'll never love or respect him the way I do, that they'll always think of him as some little toy that they can bend to their will. Maybe my life has taken some wrong turns as I grew up, but I've stayed true to myself. The Sindicate doesn't own me the way the Peace Patrol owns him, Sue Sylvester's money allows me to live in the type of comfort most people in this city can only dream of, and all I have to do in return is steal something or rough someone up for her every once in awhile, I'd say it's a fair trade. Finn says we live on opposite sides of the law, but I don't buy that, in this city there are only grey areas, there is no right side. When Finn makes love to me I can see inside of his mind, I can see how tortured he is over the choices he was forced to make as a cop, he won't talk about it but I know it still haunts him to this day, having to shoot his own partner dead to save a girl's life, what did the so called good guys do for him then?

If I'm being honest, I miss him already as I make my way back to the Sindicate headquarters, I miss the way his hands feel on my body, so gentle where they were so rough just a short time before, I miss kissing him, seeing inside of him, nobody else lets me see them the way he does, even when he knows I'm not going to like what I see, I miss the way he looks at me, I miss the way I feel when I look at him, and I hate him for making me feel like such a goddamn girl. You would think I would hate him for throwing me in jail, and I do, but I understand why he'd be naïve enough to believe I'd go straight and we could prance off together in the sunset, he was a man who still believed in good, even when he's experienced being knee-deep in all the ugliness of human kind, and maybe I love that about him, even while it frustrates me to no end.

So yes, I miss him and I know that he's going to be so pissed about me escaping that it would be silly of me to expect another naughty tryst anytime soon, maybe I should have been a bit more delicate in my methods, my body ached for him for eleven whole months and now that we've been reunited I knock him unconscious before I can even get round two in. I try to push the thought out of my mind as I reach the shadow cloaked building, Control freak knows where and when to meet me, I sent them a message right before I left me and Finn's secret hideaway. And just as I suspect he's there, just as handsome and smug-looking as ever.

"Welcome back beautiful, what took you so long?" he says as he embraces me.

"Not everyone can create entire alternate scenarios in people's minds without breaking a sweat," I say to him, making his smug grin grow even wider. "My escape required a bit more cleverness thank you very much."

"Well you must know how greatly you were missed," he says, pressing a kiss to my hand. "Let's go inside shall we?" to tell the truth I'm excited, aside from Finn, the Sindicate is the closest thing I have to a family, and I suppose if they're like my family, Jesse, or Control Freak as he likes to be called is like a brother, even our powers are similar, but his telepathy is nowhere near my level and he doesn't have the power of precognition like I do, at least not when he wants to, while my mind manipulation abilities pale in comparison to his. In a way we've always balanced each other out, maybe that's why he's always had a bit of a crush on me, Jesse was a true believer in finding his perfect partner, equal in power, he would probably have a heart attack if he knew that the man I loved was just that, a man, not a practical demigod like us. The truth is I care a great deal about Jesse, but I can never feel about him the way he feels about me, and the truth is, I know that if he looked deeply inside of himself, he would realize that it was my solely my power that he truly loved.

"So what's it like on the inside?" Jesse says as we make our way down the dark hall.

"Boring," I say, shrugging. "And cold, it's like they've never heard of central heating."

"Well it's good to have you back, things have been so much harder since you left, Madam Sylvester actually had to send Warp and Spiritgirl on an armored car heist."

"What I would have given to see that," I've always thought that Jesse underestimated Spiritgirl, but Warp? Kurt's matter manipulation abilities were enviable, no question, but robbing an armored car took the type of athleticism and fighting skill that he simply didn't have, he was into classier jobs like stealing priceless art or infiltrating government buildings. No wonder he needed Tina's help, her invisibility powers surely came in handy on that job, but I can't help but think I could have gotten it done myself If I had been here. "So how is everyone?"

"Why don't you see for yourself?" Jesse says, entering his code on the keyboard and allowing the retinal scan. At that the doors slide open and I beam at the sight of my old friends. Warp, Spiritgirl, Caterwaul and Wiseguy.

"Good god girl, What took you so long?" Kurt says, repeating Jesse's words as he comes up to hug me. And I hug him back. "And what happened to your face?" in the light Jesse can finally see the bruised cheekbone my lover gave me not two hours ago, but before he can comment on it Kurt places his hand over it, effortlessly making the mark disappear. "Much better," he says, Warp always was one of my favorite people.

"What _did_ happen to you tonight?" Mercedes, also known as Caterwaul for her piercing sonic scream says, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "Did you make a little stop before you came here?"

"I was just held up by that neaderthal Midnight Man," I say of Finn, still refusing to use his new name. "We had a bit of a scrap but he's taken care of for now."

"I never understood why he was any match for you," Artie says, inching himself up to me in his wheelchair, and Artie may have known every published fact in the world, hence the name Wiseguy, but he was just as in the dark about me and Finn's exploits as anyone else in this room.

"He's a relentless pain in the ass, that's why. if you keep aiming at the same target you're bound to hit it eventually." Jesse says. "I don't understand why you don't just wash your hands of him already."

"You mean kill him?" I say, the thought making me feel a bit sick. "Where's the fun in that?" I continue, smirking, masking my horror at the idea of killing Finn.

"You call that fun? Your encounters with him must be about as fun as playing chess with a pig," Jesse argues.

"He happens to be a very skilled hand-to-hand combatant, far better than any of us," I say, I know that I shouldn't be sticking up for Finn, he's supposed to be my enemy, but I can't help it. "And that's not even mentioning the kind of things that he builds, He's like some sort of savant when it comes to weapons and tools."

"Idiot savant maybe," Jesse says under his breath.

"If I wouldn't know any better I'd say someone has a crush," Tina teases, nudging me a little, and I try not to wince with my ribs still being bruised

"Hey, I can't even judge, I've seen the guy," Kurt says. "I'd be willing to slum it a little with him too."

"Oh please," Jesse scoffs. "Headcase isn't slumming it with him."

"Of course not, don't be silly you guys," I lie.

"Look guys this is her first night back, do you think we can not talk about the guy who put her away," Artie argues.

"Thank you Wiseguy," I say in gratitude, it's true, the last thing I want to do is talk about Finn right now, not with them.

"So, where is Madam Sylvester?" I say, changing the subject. "I thought she'd be here to greet me."

"She's on business in Italy, she returns Monday. But she sends her love," Jesse says.

It really is good to be back, I think to myself.

* * *

><p>I sit atop Sylvester tower again that night, looking out over Lima City, not certain if I'm just enjoying the time to myself or waiting for something, well more like someone. He's going to chase me, I have no doubt in my mind about that, but when is a whole other story. And I wonder what will happen when he finds me again, whether he'll take his anger out by fighting me or tearing my clothes off and fucking me senseless against the wall, maybe it will be both, probably both I'm thinking, it's usually both. I suppose it took about fifteen minutes for him to come to and another two to pick his handcuffs, he's probably back at his headquarters now, planning his next move, planning how he's going to take me down again. I think about the first time, how devious yet simple his plan had been, I would have been impressed if I weren't so angry.<p>

"_Do you ever think about giving it up, going straight?" he said as we sat atop a ledge of a high building like so many times before._

"_You mean joining the Peace Patrol like the rest of the sheep?" I replied. "No thanks."_

"_I don't get it HC," he said, combing my hair out of my face. "There's so much good in you, I see it every time I look into your eyes, and I just don't understand why you can't just try."_

"_And I don't understand why you can't love me no matter what, the way I love you," I protested._

"_I do, I do love you no matter what, which is why it kills me to have to do this."_

"_Do what?" I said confusedly. And at that he kissed me, firmly and hotly, stealing my thoughts and making my head fuzzy, but there was something different in his kiss that time around, something anguished and final about it, and when I opened my eyes I realized that my hands were cuffed and both of my ankles were bound and attached to a slim black cord._

_"Are you seriously going to try this again?" I said, refusing to take him seriously._

"_Right at this moment Special Agent Blaine Anderson and Special Agent William Schuester are on the third floor, waiting for me to turn you over to them," Finn said. "I tricked the bug they put on me so that they're hearing an entirely different conversation between us right now, but the end result will be the same. You're going to jail HC."_

"_Really, and do you for some reason think I'm just going to go with you down 27 flights so you can deliver me to them in a nice little package?" _

"_No," he said, his face sad. "I love you HC, I hope you know that." And before I could say a word he pushed me off the ledge, sending me falling 27 stories until I reached the third story window. He'd measured the cord perfectly so that I'd dangle right in front of them, my head too mixed up from the intensity of the fall to get a lock on their mental defenses before Agent Anderson could shoot me with a tranq gun. _

That was it, I'd let him get too close, lowered my defensive walls for too long. I could still read his thoughts of course, but most of them were about how much he loved me, and the thoughts about putting me away I tended to write off as him being overconfident again, and he knew that, he knew that I didn't believe he could best me and he used it to his advantage. I promised myself that I would never let him trick me again, that I would never underestimate him again, but not to stop loving him, because it simply couldn't be done.

**Stay tuned folks!**


	4. Mindfucked

**A/N From this point on I'll be alternating from Finn and Rachel's point of view, also, I couldn't resist changing this to an M, I hate the effect this site has had on me, but I'm sure you don't mind.**

I should have known better, I think to myself, why wouldn't she sucker punch me and chain me to a pipe? It's who she was, and the sooner I realized that the better it would be for everyone. It's true, she's never going to give up her life of crime and I'm never going to stop fighting to save this city, we weren't meant to be, so why can't I keep my eyes off of her whenever we're together? Why can't I resist the feel of her body underneath mine? Why can't I think about her without secretly wondering what cool powers our kids would have? The worst part about loving Headcase is the fact that I desperately wish I didn't. What would the Peace Patrol think if they knew I was sleeping with the enemy? They'd think I was a goddamned traitor that's what they'd think, and maybe they'd be right. I just can't help the way I feel.

I drag my tired body inside of my apartment, I didn't exactly enjoy having to make up a reason why I was late for the stakeout, and why I was covered in bruises, I tell Puck that I ran into a disturbance on the way, some drug dealers roughing up some kid, of course no normal criminal would have been able to get a hit in against me, but lying to Puck is a lot easier than lying to Sam, who could easily tell when I was making things up with his empathy powers, or Santana who always suspected me of doing something wrong no matter what. I collapse on my bed, my muscles sore and my head a mess, and I try to sleep off the trauma of the night.

"Finn, are you there?" I open my eyes and look around frantically at the sound of her voice, thinking there's no way she would have shown her face here now, then I realize her voice is in my head, she does this sometimes, she did it all the time when she was in jail, it doesn't mean she's close by, she could talk to me this way from 100 miles off if she wanted. It's something I've never quite gotten used to.

"What do you want HC?" I say, frustrated.

"You're not mad are you?"

"Of course not, why would I be mad at you for giving me the worst concussion of my life?" I say sarcastically. "You know leaving me knocked out like that can kill me. I'm just a regular human, remember?"

"I'm sorry baby I wasn't thinking."

"Don't try to be cute right now, it won't work."

"Come on Finn, you can't really be that mad at me, it's not like you didn't have it coming after what you did to me."

She's sort of right, I think to myself. "Look, I forgive you okay, now can you please let me get some sleep? I just got finished getting chewed out for being late for a stakeout and now I have a long day of hunting you down ahead of me."

"I really am sorry Finn," she says again, her voice going low and breathy. "I don't even think I told you how good you were, I swear nobody has ever touched me like that before."

Okay, now she has my attention.

"I wish you were here right now," she continues. "What would you do to me if you were here right now Finn?"

"HC, I'm not going to do this, I'm still pissed at you."

"And you're so hot when you're angry," she says sexily. "It makes me want to touch myself, oh god, I'm so wet right now Finn."

She's trying to have telepathy sex with me again, maybe to make up for the concussion, I won't give her the satisfaction. I just have to stop my brain from creating any thoughts, I just have to turn it off.

"Finn," she says. "Are you touching yourself?"

"No, I'm not touching myself HC," I say, annoyed. Although I really should be, I'm almost painfully hard, I think silently, oh crap, did she hear that?

"Oh yeah, I heard it," she says, confirming my fears. "Come on, touch yourself for me baby. Pretend your hand is my mouth."

"If I do will you let me get some sleep?" I say, defeated.

"I'll let you have whatever you want."

"Okay," I say, my voice a little hoarse as I reach inside of my shorts, wrapping my hand around my cock and starting to pump my hand up and down as she teases me. "I'm touching myself."

"Me too," she says, breathlessly. "What would you be doing to me if you were here right now?"

"I'd be running my tongue up and down your whole body…"

"I'm a dirty girl, I need you to make me clean," She says without missing a beat. "What else would you do to me?"

"I'd put my mouth on your sweet, hot pussy and lap you like a track star."

"Nice play on words."

"Thanks I've actually been waiting to use that one."

"Yes I'm so hot Finn, keep going," she says, breathing hard as I rub myself up and down, slowly losing my mind.

"Then I'd fuck you hard against the wall all night long."

"Oh yeah, you know how I like it baby," She says. "You know what I'd do to you if I were there?"

"What would you do?" I say, my voice strained, barely getting the words out.

"I'd slide mouth up and down your big, hard cock, I'd suck it dry Finn."

"Oh god what else?"

"I'd stick my finger in your tight little back door," She continues. "I know you say you don't like that but remember, I can read your mind."

"I don't care just keep going," I say, still out of breath. "What else?"

"I'd shove your cock inside of my wet pussy and ride you into outer space," She continues. "Can you see the stars Finn?"

"They're so beautiful," I say dreamily as I work my hand, about to explode any second.

"Come for me Hero Boy."

"Oh god, I'm coming," I exclaim, and just then it happens. My heart is pounding hard in my chest and I can barely move. I could take out ten thugs at once with both hands tied behind my back but she could leave me powerless with just her voice.

"I miss you," she says after a few moments, her voice suddenly sad.

"I miss you too."

"I wish that things could be different."

"So do I."

"I wish I could be with you right now," she says, and even her inner voice has tears in it.

"I wish you could be with me too," I reply. "I love you."

"I know you do," she says. "If only it weren't for your silly principles."

"Aside from you they're all I have."

"I just wish I were enough."

"And I wish I were enough for you," I answer. "Goodnight HC."

"Goodnight Hero Boy."

I fall asleep that night to the sound of her voice. Wishing I knew where she was, and not just so I could take her back to prison.

* * *

><p>I feel slightly better after some sleep, a pretty intense training session with Mike and Puck and a hot shower, but it's back to work. I enter the meeting room, hoping that nobody looks at me with any suspicion, they don't, I'm pretty sure they're all still too preoccupied with Headcase getting away.<p>

"Sim did you get a read on Headcase to find her location?" Quinn asks as everyone takes their seats.

"Nothing, sorry Ice but I think her mind has the ability to protect itself against my powers," Sam says.

"Not surprising," Quinn sighs. "Damage, Gadget, what about you? Anything from the stakeout?"

"Just white noise," Puck says. "I'm starting to think Sylvester Tower isn't their hideout."

"Of course not, it's too easy," I say.

"It's not a very well kept secret that Sue Sylvester funds the Sindicate, it's the only connection we have," Santana Argues.

"I still say I should ask her Dobermans," Brittany chimes in.

"That's actually not a horrible idea Chatterbox," Santana says. Sure, Brittany she takes seriously.

"You're the only one without a secret identity, She knows that you can talk to animals, what makes you think she'd let you anywhere near them?" I argue, not pointing out the fifty other reasons why that's a stupid idea, I love Brittany like a sister and her powers do come in handy whenever there's a murder case with an animal witness, but she's out of her element here.

"Do you have any better ideas toolbox?" Santana says snappishly.

"Quinn Fabray is the biggest public figure in this room, and no one outside this room knows that she's Ice Queen, if anyone's going to get close to Sue it'll be her," I argue.

"As if she's just going to volunteer her secrets," Santana argues back.

"No Tantrum, he's right," Quinn says. "Gadget, make me a bug, in the meantime-"

"Guys this is Agent Schuester, there's a disturbance in Carmel Square, we can use your assistance," Schue interrupts, his voice emitting from the transmitter in the center of the table.

"What's the problem Schue?" Quinn answers.

"Bank holdup," Schue says. "I don't think the Sindicate's behind it."

"We're on it," Quinn replies. "Tanrum, you think you can handle this?"

"In my sleep," Santana responds, securing her mask. "Come on Gadget, you may as well make yourself useful."

"You want me to go with you?" I ask, confusedly.

"Time's a wastin' toolbox," she says, leaving me without another word, and without any further hesitation, I follow, wondering to myself what her deal is.

* * *

><p>She speeds down the street in The Flame, weaving through traffic like it's liquid, it's the first time I've ever ridden in Santana's car and I have to admit I'm impressed.<p>

"Toolbox, you have five minutes to explain to me what's going on in that feeble little brain of yours," She says, not taking her eyes off the road.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I say as calmly as I can manage.

At that she swerves hard, making me hit my head on the window, it doesn't hurt much, but it's a shock nonetheless. "What the hell is your problem?" I yell.

"I had a little talk with Sim, he didn't come to you himself because he's a good person and didn't want to invade your privacy for whatever reason, but I don't have that problem. I want to know why you get the warm fuzzies every time we talk about Headcase. Because the last time I checked we're supposed to be hunting the bitch down."

I know that my heart should have skipped a beat at her accusation, but the truth is I was prepared for this, I know that Sam can feel what I'm feeling when I think about her, the exact opposite of what I should be feeling.

"It's true," I say, my voice calm. "I'm in love."

"Holy shit I knew something was-

"With Ice Queen," I interject. "And I don't know, every time I hear her voice, whether she's talking about Headcase or anything else, but I think it's just more intense when she talks about putting away Headcase, how commanding she gets, I just get all of these feelings that I can't control, and believe me, I've tried, over and over again."

She gives me a quick side glance, trying not to take her eyes off the road for more than a split second. And I wonder to myself if she's buying it. "Well try harder toolbox, she's so out of your league it's ridiculous."

"Don't you think I know that?" I say. "Why do you think I choose to suffer in silence?"

"I knew it," She says, her voice actually softening a bit. "You really are hopeless."

"Just like you are with Chatterbox," I say, hitting the only nerve I'm capable of hitting with her.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" She says sharply. Of course I wasn't supposed to know that, but it's like I said, I've always been very intuitive.

We reach the bank in record time, racing out of the car and to the job. I know that Santana's immediate response will be to blast through the double doors and have Quinn pay for the damages later, but I prefer a lighter touch.

"What's that?" she says as I pull out a small, spherical object from my utility belt.

"It's a stun bomb, it sends out a wave that'll temporarily paralyze everyone in the building." And before she can ask any further questions I throw it hard enough for it to break through the hard glass door, the effects are so instantaneous the robbers don't even have time to pull any triggers before it completely immobilizes them, and I figure a broken window is a better option than a completely obliterated door. "It's new," I say, shrugging as the cops rush in to apprehend the crooks.

"I really hate you sometimes," Santana sighs.

**Stay tuned folks!**


	5. Sweet Dreams and Evil Schemes

Sometimes I can see what he's dreaming about, not because I'm trying to, it just sort of happens, I'll fall asleep and wake up in his dreams. I like the ones that are about me. Not because I'm a narcissist or anything, although I'm sure some would argue otherwise, I just like seeing me the way that he sees me, sees us. The first time he dreamt about me we were at a party, well more like a ball, and I was in this beautiful pink gown that looked like cotton candy and my flowing hair was adorned with sparkling gems, a lacy mask around my eyes, and he looked so handsome in his tux, and as we danced together I sang to him. We were together that night, in bed, our limbs intertwined as we looked at each other with that longing, it was about a month after the first time we slept together, but it wasn't like the first time, the first time was angry and almost violent, he'd freed five hostages from my custody and cheated me out of several million dollars that night, so of course I nearly beat him to a pulp when I got my hands on him, my anger making up for the fact that his fighting skill exceeded my own. It was the first time I almost beat him without using my powers, and I would have beat him if he hadn't attacked my lips with his before I could throw another punch, and if we hadn't ripped each others clothes off and ended up fucking right there on the rooftop.

I had to admit that it was a good strategy, one he had repeated night after night since then, but that night, the night he had the dream about the ball and me singing, that was the first time we'd gone from fucking to making love, the first time it didn't start with us fighting, just talking and maybe a bit of flirting. I had no crimes to commit that night, and he had no innocents to save, we just happened to be on the same rooftop at the same time, and I don't know what changed or when, but when he kissed me that night there was no anger behind it, he kissed me like a lover, and it made me want more of him, it made me want to see inside him. He took me to his apartment above Burt's Auto that night, it was much smaller than mine, it must not have been where he made his gadgets, I suppose he didn't trust me enough for that yet, but in his defense why would he? As we made love it was the first time I read his thoughts for reasons other than one-upping him, and I learned that he thought I was beautiful and strong, and I think insane was in there somewhere, but I mostly focused on the fact that he had grown to care for me in some strange way. When we finished he stroked my hair gently and held me like no one ever has before, and he asked me a simple question.

"_So, did you always want to be a henchman?" he asked as I laid next to him. _

"_I resent that, I'm not a henchman," I said. "I'm a sophisticated criminal mastermind who occasionally provides my invaluable services to a wealthy megalomaniac."_

"_So did you always want to be a sophisticated criminal mastermind who… do I really have to say the whole thing?"_

"_Well no actually," I admitted after a bit of hesitation. "I guess I didn't. I mean, I don't think anyone really grows up wanting to do what I do."_

"_What did you want to be, like when you were a little girl?"_

"_If this is another attempt to turn me-_

"_No, would you chill out a little?" he said teasingly. "Not everything is about that, we're just talking."_

_I smiled a little and wove my fingers between his as I looked him softly in the eyes. "If I tell you will you promise not to laugh?"_

"_I promise," he said sincerely._

_I exhaled slowly. "I wanted to be a singer."_

"_Really?" he replied. "Why would I laugh at that?"_

"_Because it's ridiculous."_

"_Yet being a henchman is perfectly normal," he said sarcastically._

"_I'm not a henchman," I said, annoyed. "And yeah, in this city, doing what I do is the only thing that really makes sense to me."_

"_Can I hear you?"_

"_Hear me what?"_

"_Recite the fifty states, what do you think?" he joked. "Can I hear you sing?"_

"_Not in a million years Hero Boy."_

"_Come on, I bet you sound really pretty," he said. "I've always liked your voice… it's… sweet."_

"_You think my voice is sweet?" I said, almost mockingly._

"_Yeah, I didn't expect that when I first met you, I thought you'd sound…"_

"_Evil?" I guessed._

"_Well, yeah, kind of."_

"_Well, I can't say I blame you, I __**am**__ evil."_

"_No you're not," he said assuredly. "I know that's what you want everyone to think but it's not true."_

"_Sweet naïve little Finn Hudson, always wanting to see the good in everyone."_

"_Wait, how do you know my real name? Did I tell you that?"_

"_No, you thought it, and thank you for not denying it."_

"_So," he said hesitantly. "If you know who I am than you know…"_

"_About the guy you killed?" I guessed, and he nodded, his jaw tightening. "He had it coming."_

"_Lima city would disagree, I avoided jail on a technicality, if I hadn't resigned they would have fired me. Not sure if I blame them."_

"_Don't say that Finn, you're a good person," I said, placing a hand on his cheek, making him look at me. "If you wouldn't have killed him he would have killed Sugar Motta, she wasn't like her dad, she was innocent, and you saved her life Finn."_

"_How much did you see when we were…"_

"_I saw you," I said simply. _

"_So you can just do that? See my memories?"_

"_I have talents you can't even imagine," I said cryptically narrowing my eyes, but he only smiled._

"_So, what about your other talents?"_

"_You know all about those," I say flirtatiously_

"_No, I meant your __**other**__ talents."_

"_I'm not going to sing Finn."_

"_Why not?" He said pleadingly. "Now that you told me it's all I can think about."_

"_Would you rather hear me sing or scream your name in the height of passion?" I said coyly._

"_By that you mean?"_

_I cut him off, rolling him onto his back and straddling his lap before lowering my body onto his. "I'm ready for round two." _

_That was the night he dreamed about me singing, and the night I knew that I was in love with him.  
><em>

He's never heard me sing, but somehow the voice in the dream was pretty accurate. The dreams always end the same way, I'm always wearing some sort of mask and at the end he takes it off and we kiss passionately, well most of the time we do other things afterwards, but the kiss is always there. I can manipulate his dreams if I want, make things happen, one night I took us to Tahiti and we made love under a waterfall, he liked that. His dreams aren't always happy ones, sometimes they're dark and frightening and they make me want to hold him and stroke his hair. I know it's because of the night he shot officer Karofsky, his friend, no matter how many times I tell him that what he did was right it still haunts him. When he has those dreams I take him somewhere else, somewhere warm and safe. Sometimes I wonder if I should let him see me the way I see him, see my past and my future, my thoughts and dreams. It hurts him that I don't, I can tell. Maybe I'm afraid he won't love me the same way if he knew.

I wonder sometimes what they'd do to me if they found out. Not about the sex, I'm sure they've all slept with someone that they shouldn't, Jesse has seduced many a lady cop in his day to get what he wanted, and Kurt is always commenting on Agent Blaine Anderson's eyes, if he weren't such a boy scout Kurt probably could have tapped that ages ago, and he would have, but sex wasn't the same thing as love. What would they think if they knew how much I loved Finn? If they knew that I would betray any one of them in a heartbeat to protect him? They'd kill me, that's what they'd do, they'd snap my neck and never speak of me again. I play by my own rules, I always have, but so do they, and if they thought anyone, not just me, was jeopardizing their operation, they would take care of that person. The only thing that's stopped them from picking off the peace patrol one by one was the fact that they could protect themselves, if not with their powers than with their secret identities and hideaways. I can do the same, but I don't want to have to watch my back against my own friends every hour of every day, I'm too close to them, they know my weaknesses and strengths, so I keep it quiet. It's not as if being with Finn has changed me, I'm just as diabolical as I ever was. Sue Sylvester taught me well, ever since the day she took me in, I mean it when I say that she doesn't own me, she raised me sure, but I've since left the nest, if I help her it's only because she helps me right back. I'm nobody's henchmen.

I decide to spend time in the headquarters today, the gym there is my home away from home, the others are so content to let their powers do all the work, not me, ever since I was young I have been dedicated to strengthening both my mind and my body to perfection. I lift a heavy barbell as I wait for her. She's coming back from Italy today, I can't say I didn't miss her, she's a closest thing to a mother I've ever had.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my little escape Artist," I hear her behind me and drop the barbell, turning to greet her. The image of her coming toward me is familiar and comforting, even though pretty much everyone found her appearance intimidating, she was taller than the average man, let alone woman, and her face had a steely hardness about it that suggested she was not to be fucked with. But to me she's just Sue, it's how it's been since I was eleven years old.

"You didn't really expect me to waste away in that hellhole forever did you?" I say slyly.

"Well, I don't know, look at the guy who put you away, If I wouldn't know any better I'd say you were getting soft there kiddo."

"Am I never going to live this down?" I say, rolling my eyes.

"Not as long as it keeps being funny," Sue says. "Didn't he push you off of a roof or something?"

"Well at long as you find it amusing," I groan. "So, how was Italy?"

"Very enlightening, in fact I brought back a little surprise for everyone, but I thought I'd show you first."

"Because I'm your favorite?"

"Actually because you were the first one I ran into, what are you doing here at 8 pm on a Saturday? Do you have no social life whatsoever?"

"Anyway," I say, getting back to the subject. "What's the surprise?"

"Not _what_ Ms. Cleo, _who_," she says draping her arm around me. "let's take a little stroll to the lab shall we?"

I follow her down the long corridors of the headquarters, all the way down the elevator and through two secret doors until we reach the lab, the most secret area of our secret headquarters. She enters her code and puts her eye up to the retinal scan, making the doors slide open. My eyes immediately go to the tall, lanky, bespectacled man inside, He's young, not much older than myself but his eyes suggest someone far older. He wears a white lab jacket and a tie, and he's rather handsome, even if his features are a bit sharp for my taste.

"Headcase, this is Dr Sebastian Smythe," Sue says, introducing the young man. "Sebastian, meet Headcase."

"Very nice to meet you Headcase," Dr. Smythe says, extending his hand for me to shake. I offer it reservedly. "I must say I'm offended Sue, after everything we've been through together over the years I don't get so much as a nickname?"

"Nicknames are reserved for those who fight in fruity tights," Sue says, I'm not offended, if I was offended by every little wisecrack Sue Sylvester made then I wouldn't have time to do anything else.

"So Dr. Smythe," I say. "What brings you to our headquarters?"

"My Headquarters," Sue corrects. "If you're so intent on being a maverick then use the proper terminology."

"To answer your question, I was commissioned, you see I specialize in metahuman studies," he explains. "Over the last several years I've been developing a drug that attacks the gene responsible for giving human beings incredible supernatural abilities."

"Wait, you've developed a drug that suppresses superpowers," I say, perplexed.

"Exactly the opposite," Smythe explains gesturing toward the canister containing the drug. "What this agent does is destabilize the gene, strengthening their power and turning it against them. Whoever is exposed to the gas will have no control over their superhuman abilities."

"Are you thinking of using this against the peace patrol," I say, taking a closer look at the prototype.

"Attacking them with their own powers, it's genius," Sue says.

"And why exactly are we doing this?" I say, keeping my voice calm, but the truth is the idea scares me, if the peace patrol lost control of their powers they cold destroy the city, that was never our intention, take it over maybe, but not destroy it.

"The only thing that has kept me from taking control of Lima City has been those so called do gooders and their pet human, without a handle on their powers they're no match for us."

"But what you're saying… if someone like Tantrum lost control over her powers she could destroy the city," I say carefully.

"That's the best part," Sue says. "Once they go haywire all over Lima City the citizens will think they've turned on them, and who can they turn to to save them all from certain destruction but it's most powerful citizen and her team of suddenly reformed superbaddies?"

"We'll rule this city," Smythe says.

"No, I'll rule this city," Sue says, annoyed. "You've been here ten minutes and you're already trying to rule it."

"This sounds incredibly Dangerous Sue," I say again. "I mean I'm all for stealing diamonds and intimidating the police but this…"

"You really think you had nothing to do with this?" Sue says interrupting. "Who do you think provided the radium?"

"That's why you wanted me to steal that radium?" I say.

"And you did an excellent job, and you're the one person I trust to release the gas on those Avenger knockoffs."

I can't do it, I won't. "I'm sorry Sue, I can't be a part of this," I say confidently. "Not even I can be comfortable with having that much blood on my hands."

"And that's why I like you Headcase," Sue says, nudging me a little. "You keep me honest. No matter, I'm sure Control Freak will appreciate the millions of dollars."

It's true, if I don't do it someone else will, this is right up Jesse's alley. I swallow hard and nod.

"Besides I have a job I'm sure you'll enjoy even more," Sue says.

"What's that?" I say in almost a whisper.

"Well unfortunately our little concoction won't have any affect on the one they call Gadget," Dr. Smythe says, putting condescending quote signs around Finn's codename.

"That's where you come in," Sue adds. "Seeing as he's the one who locked you up and all I thought you'd really get a kick out of killing him for me."

**Dun dun dun! Stay Tuned folks!**


	6. Secret Identities

I like working at Burt's Luxury Auto, it may not be what I dreamed of as a kid, working on rich people's cars (and the occasional down on their luck working man or woman who just needs a break), but the job is easy and it gives me time to think. Machines aren't like people, machines are simple, and predictable if you know what to look for. I never would have predicted that my partner of three years, my friend, my drinking buddy, the guy who's clear sham of a wedding I attended, would end up turning his gun on an innocent girl after taking out her father right in front of her, the same mob boss he, along with several other cops, several more of my friends had been in cahoots with for years, the same mob boss who was going to leak information about their secret dealings to the courts in exchange for a lighter sentence. I didn't predict any of that, not the young idealist I used to be anyway, but I could have predicted that Ms. Gabriel's flexplate would eventually crack if she kept accelerating so hard.

HC says that people are more like machines than I want to believe, that they break down if they're pushed hard enough. She thinks in spite of everything I'm just as naïve as I ever was, that I give people too much credit. But the way I see it, except for children and sociopaths, people do awful things because they choose to. Maybe it's why I'm so frustrated with her all of the time, because I know how pure and good her heart is, and I know how hard she fights against it. Men like Burt Hummel don't take the easy way out, they stand for good, even if it's something as simple as providing free labor for a single mother of three. And his son is a prime example of a man choosing to do the wrong thing, how could a man as giving and courageous as Burt, the only man who would give a disgraced cop like me a job after I quit the force, raise a son who would abandon him after his wife was killed, without so much as a "thank you for bringing me into the world?" It wasn't a bad upbringing, or a hard life, Kurt Hummel grew up rich, with kind, loving parents, nobody forced him to leave his father, he did it on his own, and every time Burt talks about him with that heartbreaking look in his eyes, I am reminded that people aren't like machines at all, machines don't just break for no good reason.

Working on Sugar Motta's Bentley always comes with its share of mixed emotions, she doesn't send her butler to take it in, she always comes herself. HC, who has sampled the thoughts of nearly every important citizen in Lima City says that Sugar misses me. Before Quinn financed my crime fighting tools, it was Sugar who provided the expensive materials I needed to create my inventions, it was out of gratitude that she helped me, gratitude and guilt. With her testimony twice as many of the dirty cops in my precinct would have been put away, Karofsky's actions would have been exposed, and I wouldn't be known throughout Lima City as the Cop-Killer who got off scot free. She couldn't do it. I didn't blame her, she was just a scared teenager, a scared teenager who's life I saved, why after all of that would I expect her to commit practical suicide by coming forward? Especially since I managed to bust most of them after the fact as Midnight Man. She's the only one besides HC and the Peace Patrol who knows my secret identity, even my own mother doesn't know the truth. I suppose she was something of a silent partner for awhile there, and the truth is I miss her sometimes too.

"How's my baby Detective Hudson?" I turn my head and flash her a warm half smile as she enters the garage, clashing horribly with her surroundings in her stilettos and perfectly tailored dress.

"Good as new," I say, running a hand over the smooth paint job. "But then again a car like this practically takes car of itself if you treat her right. And for the last time, it's Finn now."

"You'll always be detective Hudson to me," She says.

"Well that makes one of you."

"Guess what?" she says giddily.

"The Jonas Brothers are coming to Lima City?" I joke.

"I wish," she says, letting out a soft groan. "But no, I turned 18 this year which means I'm finally old enough to go to the Lima City annual Founder's Day Ball, I got my tickets in the mail today."

"Founder's Day Ball? That doesn't exactly seem like your speed," I say, knitting my brow in confusion.

"Of course not, I'd rather die," she says dismissively. "But you're like forty, that means you're old and it will probably be fun for you."

"I'm 33," I correct her, quite used to her self diagnosed Asperger's at this point. "And wait, are you giving me the tickets?"

"Just one, I gave the other one to my cook, she's poor too," Sugar says, whipping out a single ticket for me.

"Um thanks Sugar, this is really nice but I don't really do big public events."

"Because the whole city hates you?" she guesses.

"Something like that."

"Well that's the best part, it's a masquerade ball, nobody even has to know who you are, you can just go enjoy Sue Sylvester's free food and booze all night long."

That actually didn't sound like the worst idea, and Quinn goes every year, having two Peace Patrol members at an event funded by Sue Sylvester may lead to some valuable intel.

"Thanks Sugar, I think I will go," I say, smiling warmly at her.

"And thank you for taking care of my baby," she says, standing on her tiptoes to kiss me on the cheek.

* * *

><p>The phantom costume was definitely the way to go, I think as I make my way to the Founder's Day Ball, Zorro would have been way too obvious, not to mention sort of cheesy. I wonder what HC would think of me in this costume, she loves<em> Phantom of the Opera<em>, she talks about it all the time, and as I ascend the stairs to the event I wish that she were here with me, dressed to the nines as the lovely Christine. It would be so nice if we could just be a normal couple for once.

This is easily the biggest, most exquisite ballroom I've ever set foot in, so much so that my jaw immediately drops as I enter. It literally looks like the room is paved in gold. The ornate wallpaper and tapestries are gold in color, as is the lush carpeting surrounding honey shaded marble floors and the light from the chandeliers hanging above casts everything in a bright, rich amber glow. And the costumes are so unbelievable that I automatically breath a silent sigh of relief that I didn't go with the Zorro costume, I already kind of pale in comparison to everyone in my rented Phantom get-up.

I circle the room, trying to remain inconspicuous, not hard in my mundane costume. I won't drink, I think as I hover around the hors duerves , I need to stay focused, I need to find Quinn, I recognize everyone who isn't decked out in a full face mask, because it's my job to know the citizens that I protect, but she's the only one in this giant place that I know on a semi comfortable level, and I'm sure she's plans to chat it up with Sue Sylvester if she hasn't already. If I'm going to be here it needs to be for a good reason.

"Looking for someone?" I hear her voice behind me and turn around instantly. I look her up and down, thinking silently that she looks beautiful in her cascading blue ball gown and diamond tiara, like Cinderella, but also that I wish it were cotton candy pink and its wearer looked more like a petite, big eyed brunette in a lacy mask and less like the classic blonde beauty standing in front of me right now. Still, I'm grateful she found me so fast, I told her to look for The Phantom at the last peace patrol meeting.

"Nice dress," I say.

"Thanks," Quinn answers, giving me a coy smile. "Do you want to dance?"

"I thought I was here to get intel on Sue," I say quietly.

"Oh please, I'm wearing your bug and even if I wasn't, what kind of valuable information will I possibly get from her here? You don't have to be on the job twenty four seven."

"Okay, um sure, a dance would be nice I guess," I reply. It's true, I may have came with the pretense of wanting to talk about Sue, but the truth is it's so rare that I get to do things like this, things like dance with a pretty girl, even if she's not the pretty girl I want to be dancing with.

"Don't sound so enthusiastic," she says, taking my hand and leading me out to the dance floor. I get into position, putting my hands at her waist as she puts her arms around my neck. "So," she says after a few moments of careful swaying. "A little bird told me that you have a special someone on your mind, is that the truth?"

I miss a step as I dance, part of me expected Santana to tell Quinn the truth, that's just who she was, always doing everything she could to make things awkward for me, but I thought Quinn would ignore it.

"Is that a problem?" I say coolly, choosing not to deny it. Telling Quinn that I have feelings for her is a better option than admitting that I lied to Santana to hide my feelings for my enemy. Besides, It's not like I'm going to act on it. I don't really have those kind of feelings for Quinn, I don't really have those kinds of feelings for anyone except for the one person I shouldn't. "This isn't High School Quinn," I continue. "I don't doodle your name in a notebook when I'm on stakeouts. I respect you as my superior, and I suppose if things were different I could see myself with you, but our relationship is strictly professional, and I've accepted that."

"Why?" she says, and I miss a step again, more noticeably this time, because I certainly wasn't expecting that, I was expecting her to agree with me and never speak of it again, Quinn Fabray had no interest in me whatsoever. Why would she?

"Wait, what do you mean why?" I say, knitting my brow in confusion.

"We're both adults," she says, shrugging. "We make our own decisions, if you wanted to ask me out why shouldn't you?"

I have to really think about what I'm going to say, the wrong words can ruin everything, I know HC can read my mind, she knows that I only have eyes for her, but that doesn't mean that I'm free to cheat on her, or even that I'd feel even slightly okay about cheating on her. There's also the fact that a jealous Headcase is not one that I want to cross anytime soon, what if she tried to hurt Quinn?

"Quinn you don't want to be with me," I say.

"Why? Because I'm a multi-millionaire and you fix cars for a living?"

"This isn't a self-esteem thing, it's a truth thing, and the truth is you know you don't want to be with me."

"I'm pretty sure that's my decision."

"Then why? Give me one good reason," I say, and she knits her brow then and I know she can't automatically think of one, I may have dodged a bullet.

"You know how much I admire you right?" she finally says. "What you did for this city, all on your own, why do you think I fought for you to join the team?"

"I was your project Quinn, you wanted to see if you could tame me, and in some ways you did, and you may control Gadget but you don't control Finn Hudson. And that's exactly what you'd try to do if we were together."

"You know, for someone who claims to have feelings for me you don't seem to like me very much," she says, frowning a bit.

"It's complicated," I say simply.

"Let me uncomplicate it," she says and at that she leans in for a kiss, but I dodge it just in the nick of time and her lips touch my masked cheek.

"God what is the matter with you?" she says, annoyed.

"I can't do this." I say.

"Why not?"

"because I jus-

_No, I can't take one more step towards you/Cause all that's waiting is regret/Don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore/You lost the love I loved the most/I learned to live half alive/And now you want me one more time/And who do you think you are?/Runnin' 'round leaving scars/Collecting your jar of hearts/And tearing love apart/You're gonna catch a cold/From the ice inside your soul/So don't come back for me/Who do you think you are?_

It's that voice, the one in my dream, but somehow so much better, so much richer, clearer, more beautiful then I ever could have imagined, and I look over Quinn's shoulder at the stage and my eyes meet hers. It couldn't be her, could it? It's hard to tell with the lacy mask hiding her face, but the pink dress… the cotton candy pink dress. Oh god it is her. Not thirty feet away, singing her heart out on stage as I dance with another woman, another woman who just tried to kiss me. I'm broken out of my trance then as Quinn's hands grow cold, impossibly cold against my neck, nearly burning me, snapping my attention back to her.

"Why _not_?" Quinn repeats more firmly this time.

"HC," I say in almost a whisper, still not completely in the same room as Quinn mentally.

"What did you just say?" Quinn asks.

"I said excuse me, I have to go," I leave her on the dance floor without another word and dart through the double doors, but not before giving HC a look that suggests she follows.

* * *

><p>I wait in the dark hall for her, out of sight from everyone, if Quinn has come looking for me she hasn't found me, but HC will, she always does.<p>

And just like a tiny pink ninja she bursts from the darkness, attacking me with her tiny fists, knocking me against the wall, but she's not attacking me like the trained killer she is, she's attacking me like a scorned girlfriend.

"HC, please stop," I say trying to keep my voice calm. "You know that wasn't what it looked like."

"Oh yeah, you pretending to be in love with her because you're so ashamed of me, is that not what that was?"

"HC if anything you're the one that's ashamed of me," I shoot back.

"Of course I am, but at least I can admit it," she says, and I realize there are tears in her voice, and this is the first time I've ever seen her cry.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were trying _not_ to get thrown back in jail ," I say gently as she begins to calm down.

"The cops can't touch me here, Sue will make sure of it, besides nobody knows who I am, they just think I'm some random singer.

"You were amazing," I say. "I mean really, that was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard."

"Stop trying to butter me up, it won't work," She says, unbridled anger reaching her voice again.

"Tell me why you're really upset, I know it's not because of Quinn," I say, gently reaching out to remove her mask and looking deeply into her brown eyes, and I know it's true, she looks conflicted, almost scared, and I wonder what's wrong.

"Why did you have to come?" She says, still crying. "Why couldn't you have just stayed at home?"

"What are you-

And at that she cuts me off, kissing me with so much desperation it steals my breath, and I reciprocate, kissing her firmly and hotly, savoring the feel of her lips against mine because I don't know the next time I'll be able to feel them and my lips travel down, moving over her neck and feeling her pulse, and I pull her closer, lifting her slight body into my arms as I kiss her there, hearing her moan softly in my ear and feeling her pull at my hair with one hand, and my mouth goes lower, placing wet kisses over her collarbones and her modest cleavage, breathing her scent, tasting her skin.

"You are so beautiful," I murmur against her chest. "Everything about you… I just, I can't even stand it."

"Why does it have to be this way?" she cries, and I can feel her hot tears dripping onto my head, wetting my hair and I straighten myself up and place her back down on the floor. I thumb her tears away and press my lips to hers again. "It doesn't," I whisper against her mouth, and I deepen the kiss, getting lost in it, stopping only when I feel something cold and hard pressing against my chin.

I open my eyes and break the kiss and I look at her, the woman I love, holding a gun to my face.

"Yes it does," she says, tearfully.

"HC… please," I say calmly. "You know that I can get that gun away from you in a split second.

"Not if you can't move," she says, and she narrows her eyes, paralyzing my whole body, everything except my ability to speak.

"HC please, why are you doing this?" I say. "Is it because of Quinn? You now she means nothing to me, you know that. I love you, you're the only one I could ever-

"Shut up," She says, as if the words are hurting her, and she narrows her eyes again, taking my speech, she's gotten better, I guess she's had plenty of time to practice.

"It would be so easy," she says. "It wouldn't hurt at all, it would be like falling asleep."

I'm so confused right now, she's never been this way before, she's threatened me countless times but never like this, never as if she actually planned to kill me, but the way her hand shakes and the expression on her face suggests that killing me is exactly the plan.

"Anyone else would hurt you, they would make it slow and agonizing, they would love every minute of it," she continues. "And that's just what's going to happen if I don't do this, she'll get someone else and they'll hurt you. They'll torture you Finn and I can't- I can't let them, I can't let them hurt you.

I can't plead with my voice, so I try to with my eyes, with my thoughts I tell her that she doesn't have to do this, that I won't hate her if she just stops right now, that I'll still love her if she just puts the gun down, that I'll always love her.

"Get out of my head Finn!" She yells. And at that she cocks the gun, pressing it harder against my chin, angling it in a way that would make all of my brains shoot out of the back of my head. But she doesn't pull the trigger, she can't, instead she squeezes her eyes shut in defeat and anguish and drops the gun.

"Why did I have to love you," she says weakly, and at that she presses her lips to my immobile ones and narrows her eyes again, releasing me from the prison of her making, I collapse onto the floor, the way I always do when she gives me my mobility back, and before I can compose myself she's already gone.

**And yes this is a universe of superheroes which not only means that you can wear a domino mask and not be confused with your alter ego, but that you can wear a slightly different mask and become a third identity without anyone being any the wiser, I don't make the rules I just find them to be ridiculously convenient. A lot going on in this chapter without much explanation for any of it, but don't worry, more will be revealed in the upcoming chapters, this story will probably be one of my longer ones. Stay Tuned Folks!**


	7. Kiss Me Deadly

**Sorry about the wait on this guys, I've had a pretty busy week.**

**Then.**

I must have heard her incorrectly, that must have been it. Why would she possibly want me to kill Finn? It's not like she's ever considered him to be a real threat to us. And with the rest of the peace patrol out of the way the odds weren't exactly on his side, but maybe they were more wary of him now than they were before, maybe throwing me in jail had consequences he couldn't predict. Maybe the reason he worked so well as the Midnight Man, the reason he was able to do so much good is because of just how much everyone underestimated him, but they're starting to figure him out, that robbery he stopped, that was pure genius. I still wonder how he makes some of the things he does, he's not a scientist or anything. He always told me that building things came as naturally to him as breathing, and there really didn't seem to be much more of an explanation for it. Maybe he couldn't really figure it out himself. I look at Sue and can tell that she's a bit perplexed as to why I haven't said anything, so I swallow hard and offer the only words I can manage.

"Why?"

"Why?" Sue says as if the question is ridiculous. "You're seriously asking me why I want to destroy the Peace Patrol even though it's been my number one goal since they hit the scene?"

"No, I get your plan, I just don't understand why you want me to kill Fi- Gadget," I say, trying to sound as neutral as possible and not entirely succeeding. I pull myself together then and try to put on an air of confidence that I'm not sure is very convincing. "I mean, you know me, I like a challenge."

"And I offered you one, which you declined, besides I'm sure you're positively aching for a revenge kill right about now."

"The only reason he bested me is because I underestimated him."

"And now you won't have that problem," Sue offers. "Just look out for his dastardly ankle roping device and you should be fine," she adds sarcastically.

I can't do it, I think to myself. It's Finn, as much as I hate him for what he did to me, and who he chooses to associate with, I can't imagine my life without him, I can't imagine him closing his eyes and never opening them again. I shake my head then, so subtly I'm sure she doesn't catch it at first.

"Please don't tell me that you've gone soft since he put you away," Sue says.

"No, I just can't do it… It's beneath me," I lie, still feigning the confidence I don't feel inside.

"But what about your reputation? Surely you don't want to go down in history as the powerful super villainess who got bested by shortbus Batman."

"We don't have to kill him Sue, once his super friends are taken care of he won't stand a chance," Yes he will, because I'll protect him, I think silently.

"You know you're probably right," Sue agrees, and I breath a silent sigh of relief. "Even still if you won't do it I'll send someone else. Caterwaul's been bugging me about a job like this for months now."

"Wait, what," I say, a bit panicked.

"Gadget is a nuisance, we'd all be better off without him in the way, but if you think it's beneath you then fine, I'll send someone else, someone who'll have a little more fun with it."

If anyone else goes after Finn, they'll kill him without a second thought, kill him horribly, and I can't let that happen. If I'm the one responsible for taking him out then I can make it quick, easy, painless. I can kill with my mind. I know I can because I did it to a cow when I was on a school field trip. I didn't mean for it to happen, I was seven, I didn't even know I had the ability, but the girls, the girls in my class were so brutal to me, making fun of my clothes, my hair, my jew nose… my dads. I got so angry, so enraged that I lost control of my power, and the cow had to pay the price. I've been a vegan ever since. I've only used that power once since then, it was another accident, a horrible, horrible accident that made me promise to never ever use it again, and I would never in a million years use it on my Finn. It hurts, that cow was in total agony before he died… and I would never want to do that to someone I loved, not again.

"I'll do it," I say quietly, trying to keep my voice steady. "I'll kill him."

"Excellent," Sue says, clapping me on the back. "But first things first, I need your assistance at the Founder's day ball."

"Why?"

"It's a big event, if anyone tries to take me out I'm going to need protection, the whole gang is going incognito, it should be fun."

"I'll go," I say. "But only if I can sing."

"If you must," she says, annoyed. "And hey, maybe your friend Gadget'll be there, wouldn't that be a kick?"

"Why would he come?"

"Like I said, these events are a great opportunity for these guys to get themselves killed by fruitlessly trying to attack me, remember the Tantrum incident two years back?"

I do remember the year Tantrum tried to defeat Sue at the founder's day ball, luckily I showed up just in time to screw with her mind until she fled the scene. I suppose it would make sense to have me there from the beginning. I nod quietly, agreeing and hoping to god that Finn won't show up. I'll bring my gun just in case, a shot to the head seems about as quick and painless as it gets.

**Now**

I couldn't do it, I couldn't kill him, I had my chance and I couldn't pull that trigger. It was his eyes, his warm amber eyes staring into mine, pleading with me to let him live, telling me that he loves me. How could he? How could he possibly still love me after that? Maybe for the same reason I could still love him after what he did to me. But now what? If I don't kill him someone else will, there's no point in delaying the inevitable, but I simply can't do it. I can tell him to run, run far away where nobody could ever find him, but he'll never do that, his whole life is about protecting this city, the city that ruined him. I know that it's crazy, that I should be ashamed of myself for even considering this, but I need to see him, to talk to him, so as soon as I rip off my clothes and collapse onto my bed, I close my eyes, stinging with hot tears and I look for him, I'm thinking he might be at the peace patrol headquarters, the only place he can go to protect himself from my telepathy, it was Kid Kinetic of all people who realized that I can't think past airtight spaces. Luckily he's not there, he's at his apartment, still in his Phantom costume, and I still hate that I couldn't savor how good he looked at the ball. He's lying on his back, in his bed, still awake, looking conflicted as hell, because why wouldn't he? I hone in on his thoughts then and I realize that he's already trying to contact me.

"HC, please talk to me, please, I just need to hear your voice right now. I just need you to help me understand.

"Finn?" I finally say, projecting the thought into his mind, and he shoots up in bed at the sound of my voice, probably worried that I'm there. "Finn, I'm so sorry."

"HC, just tell me what happened, please, because I'm kind of freaking out right now."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry."

"You tried to kill me," he says, his voice frantic. "And not the way you usually try to kill me it was like… like you meant it."

"I wish I could tell you-

"Then tell me baby," he says so gently, making my heart ache. "Did something happen to you?"

"No, I mean… I don't know."

"Then why did you try to kill me?" he says more firmly this time.

"I have to see you," I say, knowing what to expect, why would he agree to meet with me after what happened?"

"Okay," he says after a long silence. "Meet me on the rooftop."

He's waiting for me, the way he said he would, he's dressed in his uniform, clearly ready for a fight if he needs to be, and I'm dressed in mine, ready to fight back if I have to, but that doesn't happen, instead he walks up to me slowly.

"HC, did Sue tell you to kill me?" he says carefully. And I nod wordlessly.

"And you agreed?" he says a bit angrily.

"I didn't have a choice," I cried. "If it weren't me then she would just send someone else."

"I can't believe this," he says, shaking his head. "I can't believe I thought you would change."

"That's not fair Finn," I say tearfully. "We're enemies, that's the way it's always been. You know what I am. "

"No, that's not who you are," he shoots back. "You're not like them, you keep swearing that you are but you're not, because if you were you would have pulled that trigger."

"Just because I love you doesn't mean I'm a good person," I say miserably. "I'm not."

"Yes you are, deep down you are."

"There is just so much that you don't know about me Finn, and if you knew those things you wouldn't be able to look at me let alone love me."

"I'm here aren't I?" he says angrily. "You've beaten me to a pulp, you've hurt my friends and tonight you tried to kill me but I'm still here, I'm here because whether you know it or not I do love you… no matter what. But I need you to talk to me. I need you to tell me what's going on HC."

The tears leak down my eyes and drip off of my mask, and I really need to stop letting him see me cry. Could I do this? Could I actually betray Sue? The woman who raised me, who took in a monster, who taught me to accept who I was? I couldn't, but I couldn't hurt Finn either, and I would kill anyone who ever tried to do the same.

"You have to run Finn," I say brokenly. "You have to go someplace far away where nobody knows you, where you can be someone else, and I'll find you, I will because I can find you anywh-

"You know I can't do that," he says, cutting me off, and if I didn't love him so much I would despise him.

"God, why do you always have to do the right thing?" I yell, frustrated.

"Just please, tell me what she's planning, why is she so interested in killing me all of a sudden?"

"I can't, don't you see that I can't?"

"You told me that Sue doesn't own you," Finn says, using my words against me. "Prove it."

"Finn-

And he cuts me off again, but this time with a kiss, he takes me into his arms and captures my lips in his, and I can't help but melt against him. I wasn't supposed to be this girl, I couldn't betray my friends, my former guardian, not for a guy, not even this one. And I believe that he loves me, I know he loves me, but like always he's trying to use me, to use my affection for him to get the upper hand, and it's not like I wouldn't do the same thing, hell, I have done the same thing. But I can't let him do this. So I break the kiss, resting my forehead against his.

"Finn, you're going to die if you stay here, and I can't let that happen," I whisper into his lips.

"Baby please just tell me, if your information stops Sue's plan I can convince them to pardon you, you won't have to go back to jail, and I can protect you, I can keep you safe from her, I will."

"But who's going to keep you safe from me?" I whisper again.

He knits his brow in confusion but before he can say anything I hit him with a quick, powerful head butt, knocking him out, sending him to the ground.

"Last time sweetie, I promise," I say and I take my communicator out of it's compartment and press the button that contacts Sue.

"Is it done," Sue says coldly.

"Yeah," I repeat, looking down at my unconscious lover. "It's done."

**Stay tuned folks!**


	8. The System

God damn her, what the hell has she done this time? Where am I? How long have I been out? Why am I naked? The thoughts course through my head as I take in my surroundings. It's dark, well actually it's more dim, I can still clearly see everything. It looks like some sort of basement, but I'm not cold, or uncomfortable aside from my headache. I'm on a bed, a nice, soft one, the only piece of furniture present aside from a chair. I get up slowly, carefully, covering myself with a sheet as I place my feet on the floor, but I stop immediately when I hear the clanking sound on the hardwood.

"Oh no," I sigh in frustration at the sight of my chained ankle. The events of the night are catching up to me and it doesn't take long to figure out what's happened. She's hiding me, in her mind it's the only way to keep from killing me. It's amazing how easy it is for me to forget that I'm in love with a total whackjob.

"HC!" I yell, anger in my voice. "I know you're here!"

And like clockwork she emerges from the shadows, still wearing her black leather and her mask, ready for a fight if she has to be, unlike me who she's left totally unprotected.

"Real nice, did you take off my clothes so I'd be more vulnerable or something? Because you should know it's not going to work. I can still kick your ass."

"For your information I took off your clothes so you would be comfortable," She says, walking up to me slowly. "And, you know, for my personal entertainment," she continues, shrugging. At that I stand up, dropping the sheet, towering over her, as intimidating as I can manage to be.

"Did you really have to knock me out again, couldn't you have just used your powers to make me follow you, or you know, not locked me in a dungeon in the first place?"

"You know I can't hold you with my powers for that long, you would have broken free before we even got out of the building."

"What are you doing HC?" I sigh, rubbing my forehead in frustration.

"You refuse to listen to reason so you left me no choice," She says. "You wouldn't leave town like I suggested so I had to fake your death and lock you away where nobody could find you."

I knit my brow in disbelief as I study her face, she's totally serious, there are no traces of sarcasm in her voice at all. She remains still as I step forward, craning my neck down to look her right in the face.

"You're a fucking lunatic you know that?" I say quietly, my face so close to hers that I can feel the warmth coming off of her skin.

"As if you didn't know that when you met me," she says back, coldly. "Admit it, it turns you on."

"Not right now it doesn't," I say, my voice hard.

"Oh yeah?" she says slyly. Placing her gloved hands on my bare chest. "You know, you can kiss me if you want to."

And I don't know why, but all of a sudden I want to, I really really want to, even though I absolutely shouldn't.

"I want to," I say, and close the short distance between us, letting her capture my lips in hers, and it only takes me a moment to realize what she's doing.

"You can't do that!" I seethe, breaking away from her, breaking free of her trance.

"What makes you think that was my power?" she says, feigning innocence. "Maybe you're just looking to take advantage of the situation."

"And you can't just keep me here forever," I say, getting back to the subject, raising my voice a little.

"Why not?" She yells back, her voice breaking, tears in it. I wish she would stop that, making me feel for her when I should be pissed.

"Because I have a life, a job, a family."

"Your mother, I know," She says. "I'm sorry Finn, I know how much you care about her, which is just one of the reasons I can't let you die."

"I can protect myself."

"No you can't," she spits. "I know how strong you are Finn, nobody knows that better than me, but that doesn't change the fact that you have weaknessnes that they don't share. If they wanted to kill you, if they really wanted to, then they could. I could."

"Glad to know you have so much faith in me," I say sarcastically.

"This isn't about that!" she snaps, and I have to step back a little. She looks so torn up about this and I wish that I could get inside of her head the way she gets in mine. "She knows something Finn."

"What?"

"I figured it out," She says. "I don't know how she knows, or even if she only suspects, but I could see it in her face. She knows something, about us."

I hate to say it but what she's saying makes sense. It isn't just about the Peace Patrol, taking them out has always been priority one for Sue Sylvester, but my death alone has always seemed optional to her until now. Her sudden interest in killing me had to have something more to do with it.

"How?" is my only question.

"Sue's smart Finn," She says. "She has her ways."

"Was it Control Freak?" I continue. "You said he has some psychic ability."

"Very little," she replies. "Prophetic dreams and spontaneous visions mostly, but I'm immune to his powers, two telepaths can't read each other."

"But a telepath can read me." I say, figuring it out. She remains silent but her jaw tightens a little, as if she's worried that it could be possible. "This is bad HC."

"Everything's going to be okay," she says, her voice rising in pitch with anguish. "You can stay here, with me and you'll be safe."

My face softens as I look at her, so broken up over the idea of losing me, she's not like them, she's not. I just wish I could figure out why she was so loyal to Sue, granted she didn't do everything that she asked, she had free will, or at least what she believed to be free will, but she wouldn't sell her out either.

"You have to read Sue, you have to find out if she knows," I say.

"She'll never let me, she knows how to protect herself from my powers, I don't know whether it's a device or a method or what, but I get nothing from her."

"God can't you see? If she doesn't trust you than why do you trust her?"

"I don't trust her Finn," she shoots back. "But I owe her more than you could possibly know."

"You're right, I don't know," I say, annoyed. "I don't know because you never tell me anything, you never let me see you. You've seen deeper inside of me than anyone ever has and I let you because… fuck Rachel I just… I love you so much and…" I trail off then, because did I just say what I think I said? "Your name… it's Rachel?"

She simply nods then. And the corner of my mouth turns up a little in spite of myself, because she just told me her name without me even realizing it. "Rachel…" I test the name out, liking the way it sounds on my lips. "That's beautiful," I continue, my voice soft.

"Finn I don't want to hide from you," she says tearfully. "But I don't want to lose you either, you're the only good person who's ever loved me. I mean, since…"

"Since what?" I say firmly.

"Finn if I tell you you'll leave, you'll never love me again, and I need you, I need you to love me."

"I can't leave, remember?" I say lightly touching her hair.

It's hard to read her face at that moment, but I think she nods a little, and she reaches up to remove her mask and looks at me intensely, her face so innocent, almost scared.

"Come here," she says softly, so I oblige, walking up closer to her until our bodies are almost touching. "I haven't done this in years, not since I was a little girl. There was never anyone I trusted enough," at that she takes off her red gloves and places her bare, warm hands on my face and she guides my head down gently to touch her forehead to mine. "This can be very jarring but you just have to stay calm, and breath. And you can hold onto me if you want."

"Are you sure?" I say in almost a whisper, snaking my hands around her tiny waist, pulling her closer.

"No," she replies. "But I guess I'll know in a few minutes whether this is a good idea or not."

"You can trust me," I say.

She nods against my forehead even though her face is still uncertain. "Close your eyes."

I oblige, shutting them, and before long I'm somewhere else entirely, it's a house, a big warm house with a grand piano in the foyer and an arrangement of family photos on the wall, and at the piano sits a little girl, a beautiful little girl with brown eyes as big as saucers, wearing a frilly white dress and playing a simple tune and singing her heart out, and as she plays two men enter the room, one tall and bespectacled, the other shorter and brown skinned with curly hair, and the little girl on the piano squeals in delight as the shorter man attacks her from behind, tickling her sides.

"Daddy I have to practice, " she giggles.

"Ah yes, practice makes perfect," The taller man agrees. "But what do you say we blow off the piano lessons just this once?"

"What could possibly be that important," The little girl says, returning to her playing.

"Can you say Barbra Streisand?" The shorter man says slyly and the small girl on the piano slams the cover down and shoots him a look of pure shock.

"You got the tickets?" she says delightedly. "But how? They were sold out."

"I know because I remember you crying for four straight hours, I think I remember something about you saying your life was over," The taller man replies.

"Which is why I pulled some strings and got seats for the three of us," The shorter man chimes in. Lets just say that I owe Morgan from accounting your future little brother or sister."

The girl on the piano can barely contain her excitement at that point, she squeals so loud that both of the men wince slightly, and she throws her thin arms around them in a crushing hug.

"What are we waiting for, Lets go! Lets go!" She cries, grabbing each of their hands and dragging them out the door. I smile at the sight of my love as a child, so far removed from the person she turned into, yet somehow the same, and I suppose the two men are her fathers, she had never specifically said that she was raised by two gay dads, but it was easy to see the way they were with each other that they couldn't have been anything other than her dads. I don't have much time to dwell on it before I'm taken someplace else, actually it's the same house only it's a different time, and that same little girl is on her bed with a glass of water, crying her heart out as the men from the previous vision try to comfort her.

"He was shaking on the ground and making this awful noise, like he was hurting, and there was blood coming out of his ears," she says miserably. "I didn't mean to do it, I was just so mad."

"It wasn't your fault baby girl," the brown skinned man says, kissing the top of his miserable young daughter's head. "We know you didn't mean to hurt him."

"We don't know why you were given this power sweetheart," The man with the glasses says. "But it's like with your singing, you have to learn to control it."

"I don't know how," she says.

"We'll help you," the darker man says. "We love you, and no matter what happens we'll always be here to protect you."

"Always," the man with the glasses adds, hugging her tight. I'm instantly saddened by this vision, it was true, she could kill with her mind, and it had happened when she was so young, completely by accident, I wish I could've hugged her too, tell her that everything was going to be alright, even though I knew that the young girl in the vision was long gone. I try to pull himself together long enough to follow her into the next vision, it's the same house, at night and the girl is once again crying, but this time it appears to be because of her dream, she's dressed in her pajamas and letting herself into a room, clearly that of her dads.

"Dad? Daddy?" She cries, coming up to their bed. "I had a bad dream can I-

But she stops when she realizes they haven't moved or spoken and My breath immediately catches in my throat as I realize what's happening. It can't be, she couldn't have. But she turns on their bedside light at that moment and he sees for himself, her dads, lying in bed, blood coming out of their ears. And as she looks at them she doesn't scream, or even cry, she just backs away, shocked, as if she can't believe what she's seeing. I can't blame her, because I can't believe it either, and my heart breaks into a million pieces for her as she sinks the ground, the tears finally reaching her eyes. I'm surprised she has the strength to show me more, but before I know it I find myself in some sort of facility, an orphanage maybe, or a jail. She's in an isolated room, playing a small keyboard that sits on the desk where she's sitting, it's a somber tune, but she's not singing and the tears drip from her eyes and make the keys wet and he so badly wants to hold this little girl, the one who grew up to be the woman he loves.

"Rachel Barbra Berry, we meet at last," he recognizes the voice of the woman who comes up behind her at that moment. And he can see her face as she sits next to Rachel, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I hear you're quite the talented little girl, in more ways than one."

"What do you want?" Rachel says coldly, not looking up at Sue.

"I want to help you," Sue says. "I want to help you embrace what you are."

"I'm a killer," Rachel says emotionlessly.

"Exactly," Sue agrees, and I hate her instantly for even implying such a thing, let alone flat out saying it, she loved those men, I could see how much she did, she would never hurt them on purpose. "If the system has their way they'll lock you away and study you until they know enough not to need you anymore, and then what do you think will happen?"

"I don't know," Rachel says still not looking up, still playing the sad song.

"They'll do what the system does to killers, they'll execute you," and at that she finally looks at Sue, fear in her eyes. "They're already looking into how this happened, once they have the evidence they need it's sayonara Lima city, hello area 51, but if you come with me, I can stop that from happening, I'm a very powerful woman Rachel, I can keep you out of the system, adopt you as my own and teach you all about those scary powers of yours," Sue says. "I can teach you to embrace your power, own it."

"I don't want to own it," Rachel says angrily. "I'd rather let them kill me, I deserve it."

"You deserve to die for being the very thing you were created to be?" Sue says. "That doesn't sound very fair does it?"

"I don't know, I don't know what's fair."

"Tell you what," Sue says. "I'm going to give you my card, this is the number to my direct line" Sue says handing it to her. Once you get tired of this woe is me thing you've got going, give me a call."

She takes the card and looks at it while Sue leaves the room, and the last thing I see before I leave the vision is Rachel looking back at the woman who would soon turn her from Rachel Barbra Berry to Headcase.

**So I've now killed one or both of Rachel's dads in five AU stories. _When A Gleek Loves A Cheerio_,_ War Stories_,_ Finn, Interrupted_, _A Home At the End Of The World_ and now this one. And yes, it is harder now that I know them better, but still, I can't help it, I just love the angst of it.**

**Stay Tuned Folks!**


	9. The Line

He collapses to the ground as I release him, shaking and sweating, clawing at the sheets to cover his body, his eyes are dazed and unfocused and he's breathing so hard. It was they way I felt the first time I found out that I can see into the minds of others, only it must be so much harder for him, especially seeing what I showed him. I kneel down cautiously, preparing for the worst, preparing for him to yell at me to stay the hell away from him, I place a hand gently on his shoulder and he flinches, and I can't tell whether it's because he's afraid of me, disgusted by me or simply startled that I touched him.

"Finn," I say quietly. "Finn are you alright?"

He looks me in the eye at that point, just sitting there, studying my face as if he's looking for some traces of evil, the evil that killed my fathers 20 years ago.

"Rachel," he breathes softly, and to hear him say my name, my real one after so long feels so strange, strange but good, like there's a possibility that he could love the real me, I savor it because I know that it won't last, he'll leave, maybe not physically because he can't, but emotionally he'll want nothing to do with me. I remember once I asked him what his line was. I've beaten him up, broken his bones, stolen, I've even killed, granted none of them were particularly innocent themselves, but I killed them nonetheless. I never told Finn that but I imagine he knows, but to kill my own parents, good people who loved me more than anything, if that isn't the line I don't know what is. He looks away from me again, staring forward, clearly deep in thought and still reeling from seeing so deeply inside of me. I touch his hair, moist with sweat, my hand is gentle on his head and he doesn't flinch this time. I'm not sure if I want to read his thoughts right now, whether I'm afraid to or whether it just feels wrong, I just want him to talk to me, to say anything right now.

"You killed your dads," he says simply, his voice choked.

"I didn't want you to know," I say, stroking his hair again. "It was one thing when we just had this crazy back and forth villain vs. hero dynamic, but for you to know, how evil I really am…"

"Is that what you think?" he replies sharply, looking at me again.

"What am I supposed to think?" I say brokenly.

"That you were nine years old, that it was an accident, that it wasn't your fault-

"My power kills people Finn," I argue, cutting him off. "Can't you see, I was chosen for this life."

"No," he says, grabbing me by the shoulders. "She manipulated you Rachel, she made you think that you had no other choice."

"She's the only reason I have a choice Finn," I argue. "She's the only reason I even have a life of my own. If it weren't for her I'd be a bunch of cells in a test tube right now or reprogrammed to murder children in rival countries. I may be evil but I still have my integrity."

"You're not evil!" He snaps, scaring me a little. "You're… I mean you're so…" he trails off, tears pooling in his eyes and he touches my hair and touches my face, staring at me in silence. And my hand touches his and I squeeze it a little.

"You're so innocent," I say. "Always wanting to see the good in everybody."

"It's easy with you Rachel."

"What I do doesn't have to define every part of me Finn," I say. "There's the part of me that does bad things for bad people and the part of me that loves you so much…" My voice breaks and I can't finish.

"I just don't understand why, I never did."

"Because with you everything is about right and wrong," I say. "Life isn't as simple as that Finn, without villains there would be no heroes. The world needs people like me to keep the fight going. Otherwise what's the point of living?"

"But that's not who you are."

"What about you?" I snap. "Do you really believe that Gadget's who you really are? Or do you just disregard the fact that you don't belong there because you feel like you're on the right side?"

"Don't turn this around on me," He seethes. "I'm not the one who was programmed her entire life to believe in this evil destiny bullshit. If you really believed that you were meant to be evil than what the hell keeps you from murdering those children you were talking about huh? Why haven't you killed _me_? Wouldn't that make your life a whole lot easier."

"It's not just about what's easy. It's about what I want," I shoot back. "Maybe I want the kind of life that working with Sue has provided, and maybe I want you, what I don't want is to be anybody's goddamned puppet," at that I shoot up from my position beside him and begin to pace the floor.

"Is that what you think I am?" he says, standing up, not bothering to cover himself with the sheet.

"Finn, you killed your partner to save a girls life, you killed your friend for someone you didn't even know."

"What are you saying?" he says, his jaw tightening.

"I'm saying that it was your choice, just like it's your choice to love me. Just face it, you don't always want to do the right thing either."

"Rachel," he says his voice softening. "I'm not with you because it's wrong."

"You're with me because you love me, I know." I say, my voice breaking. "Even after seeing what you saw. It just further proves that you're not like them," I turn to face him again and cup his face in my hands. "Do you think any one of them would look at me with anything but disgust if they knew what I was capable of?"

His lack of response says it all.

"When I'm with you there's no good or evil," I say, stroking his hair with my fingertips. "There's just you and me."

He kisses me on his own this time, pulling me closer, holding me in his strong arms as if everything is just fine, as if I hadn't chained him up in a basement and told him my darkest secret, and I know now, with him kissing me that I can't let him go, even if he begs.

"Rachel," he whispers into my mouth. "It wasn't your fault okay, I want you to know that."

"I don't want to talk about that right now, just keep kissing me," so he does, he kisses me and I kiss him back and run my fingers through his soft hair as he backs me up toward the bed. As we lay down together he hovers over me, his eyes burning into mine as he zips my leather corset down, well faux leather, but nobody can tell the difference. I sit up to let him get it off of me and he lowers me down again, pressing his naked body against my half-naked one.

"What am I thinking right now?" he says huskily, in between kisses to my mouth and neck as he gets started on removing my tight pants.

"You're thinking…" I trail off as he plants kisses down the column of my throat and down to my chest where he captures my nipple with his soft lips and begins to run his tongue over it, making me hot and tingly in all of the right places.

"Huh?' he says, urging me on as his hand finds my hot center, and he continues to tease and touch me with his mouth and his hand, making me lose my focus, making me foggy.

"Finn I…" and I once again fail to form a sentence as he drags his mouth down my body, covering me in kisses and gentle licks and soft bites that sting in that good way. "you're… Oh fuck." My hands clench into the sheets as his mouth reaches that hot wet place between my legs where his hand just was and I bite my lip hard and squeeze my eyes shut, the feeling of his tongue against me is indescribable, it's torture, beautiful endless torture. My body jerks and my breath catches in my throat with every lick, and as his hands reach up to touch my breasts I grab them in mine, needing to hold onto something, needing to keep from floating away.

"Finn… please-" I breath, but I'm cut off by his kiss this time and I wrap my arms around him, needing him closer. I hate it when he does this, gets the upper hand on me mentally, but I love it, I love him, I love all of him, and I need him inside of me like I need air and when I feel him slide in everything is okay for awhile.

I can hear and see everything that's inside of him as he thrusts in and out of me, but I can't express it, or even comprehend it right now, not until he lets me free and I have time to think. I hold him tighter, kissing him, tasting myself on his mouth as he loves me.

"Rachel?" he says, his voice labored, and somehow I manage to choke out a response.

"I want to see you," he says, still writhing against me, filling me up. "All of you, the way you see me."

"I want you to see me too," I cry.

"But you're scared," he deduces.

"Not as much now, but yes. I'm scared Finn."

He kisses me again and I wrap my legs tighter around him, holding him inside.

"Don't be," he says. "I want to see you."

I can't talk anymore, he's pushing me closer and closer to the edge and I can't make words, and I can tell that he's close too, he laces his fingers through mine and grasps my hand in a sort of desperation as we come together, and he collapses into me, his heart beating so hard against mine.

I hold him there for a minute, sighing softly and stroking his hair as he rests his head on my chest, feeling the rapid beat of my own heart.

"You showed me those things because you knew I couldn't leave… didn't you?" he says after awhile, not angrily.

"Will you be very angry with me if I said yes?"

"When am I ever really angry with you?"

"Yes, that's why I showed you," I admit, and I can feel him nod against my chest.

"What am I thinking Rachel?" he whispers again.

"That you think I'm a psycho," I say. "And also that you think I'm amazing."

"I do," He says, and I can feel his eyelids flicker closed against my chest as he drifts off to sleep.

* * *

><p>He's still sleeping when I suit back up and get ready to go back to the headquarters, I want him to stay asleep until I'm gone, I know he's going to protest, that we're going to argue, and I don't want that, I just want us to have our perfect safe world together for a little longer, but I did kidnap him after all, it's not something he's just going to be able to let go.<p>

"Rachel?" he says groggily. "Where are you going?"

"Where do you think?" I say a bit coldly, and he sits up then, rubbing his eyes.

"You're still going to help her aren't you?" he says. "You're not letting me go?"

"Nothing has changed Finn, you're still in danger and I still have a job to do."

"Goddamnit Rachel, why can't you see that that helping Sue isn't going to lead to anything good?"

"Like things are so great anyway," I shoot back.

"You don't have to help us fight Sue okay," he says softly, trying to plead with me. "Just tell me what she's planning, and let me out of here, that's all I'm asking."

"What makes you so sure she's planning something?"

"I can see it in your face," he says adamantly. "I can't read your mind but I know when something is wrong and something's wrong. Why else would she want me out of the way so badly? She's trying to keep you under her thumb so you can help her get away with it. If she suspects that were together than she knows I can jeopardize things."

"I'm not doing anything I don't want to do," I say, only somewhat truthfully.

"But you're letting it happen," he shoots back, and I don't understand how he can know so much and so little at the same time.

"Look Finn I stole you some take out," I say, wanting to get off of the subject. "I know how much you like the spareribs from Yuet Lee-

"Rache-

"And the chain is long enough for you to reach the bathroom," I say, cutting him off as I spring for the door, not wanting to hear him plead anymore.

"This is the line Rachel."

I turn around at his words and look at him again, and his face is cold and serious. "You asked me what my line was, what you would have to do to make me not want to be with you anymore, to make me turn around and never look back, well this is it. This is my line. If you leave me here and let Sue get away with whatever evil plan she has up her sleeve, I wont be able to forgive you… _ever_."

I don't want to believe him, I can't believe him but he looks dead serious, and I've never seen him this way before.

"Fine you can hate me all you want but you're stuck here either way hero boy," I say, trying not to let my voice shake too much, and with that I dart out of the door, not wanting to let him see me cry.

**Yes I promise to show more of the Sindicate and the Peace Patrol, like I said this story will be long. Stay tuned folks!**


	10. Trapped

**Sorry for another short chapter, the next one should be longer, and it will also include more of the Sindicate.**

How am I going to get out of this? I think to myself, she literally left me with nothing, not even so much as a hacksaw to saw off my foot with. I could have picked the lock if she had given me a metal fork to eat my takeout with, but she was smarter than that, she'd even removed the wire handle from the Chinese food container. I don't know when she's coming back, or what I'm going to do when she does, there's no way I'm touching her again, not even if she begs me, not even if I want it, and I know that I'm going to want it because I always do. We all had weaknesses, Damage was highly vulnerable to radiation, he couldn't even stand near a microwave without his powers going by the wayside, Ice Queen needed moisture in the air to be able to freeze things, Tantrum had a healing factor but she wasn't immune to the fire she created, if she didn't focus her energy in just the right way she could really hurt herself, it happened before during a particularly stressful standoff with Control Freak, she has since healed to her former beauty, but for almost a week she strikingly resembled Freddy Krueger.

They all think that my weakness is my lack of powers, and I suppose they're right in some ways, but my real weakness is her. It's true, she's never going to go straight, and for the first time since we kissed on that rooftop she was truly my enemy. But God is she irresistible, the feel of her skin against mine, the taste of her mouth, the sound of her sighing my name in pleasure, it makes me feel weak in the best way, and the things she shared with me, about her dads, she didn't trust anyone that much… no, I can't think that way, I have to let her go, I have to hate her, but damn it I can't do it. If she were here right now I'd last thirty seconds before ripping her clothes off and burying myself inside of her again. I was powerless against her and she knew it. Damn her.

I groan in frustration, trying to think of how I was going to get out of this. I know that in her twisted way she's trying to protect me, but why couldn't she protect me by helping us stop Sue? I know she hates the Peace Patrol, but there are bigger things happening than her grudge. I just wish I knew what Sue was planning, I can tell that it was something big, I could tell by her look of confliction on her face when I confronted her about it. I think long and hard about what to do, but the situation still seems hopeless, the only thing he can think of is to try reasoning with her again when she gets back. As I think of things I can say to her to possibly get her to set me free, I hear something that snaps me out of my thoughts. It sounds like a faint, distant pounding, I turn my head toward the sound and knit my brow in confusion, wondering what it could possibly be.

I don't react much at first, mostly because there's not much I can actually do at this point and also because I'm not sure if I should be threatened or not. I don't even know what time it is, for all I know it could be some sort of demolition going on in the general proximity. But when I hear another bang, louder this time, closer, I jump into position. Readying myself for what might be coming, then I hear another pounding, even louder this time and I think I see the bricks in the wall starting to chip. And I realize that something is trying to get in, but what? What's happening? Was Rachel behind this? I don't have much time to think as I hear another pounding sound and my eyes go wide in fear as one of the bricks break loose and fall to the floor, another follows, then another until soon I can see the figure trying to break into my prison. I only breath a sigh of relief as I see Damage enter through the hole he made in the wall. I should have known one of them would come for me eventually. Sam could get a track on me with his powers.

"Jesus, why are you naked?" Puck says, wincing in disgust as he enters the room.

"That's seriously your question now?" I respond sarcastically, taking the sheet and wrapping it around my hips. "Not if I'm okay? Not how I got here?"

"We all have a pretty good idea of how you got here," Puck says bending to grab the chain and breaking it easily in his hands. "It was Headcase right? We figure it was only a matter of time before she tried to get her revenge, I have to say this isn't quite what I expected. I mean it smells like Chinese food and sex in here."

I blush a little at Puck's comment, hoping he doesn't put two and two together.

"Wait a minute…" Puck says knitting his brow in contemplation. Oh no, here it comes. "Why _does_ it smell like sex in here?"

"I don't know, maybe she was having sex in here before she kidnapped me," I say, trying to keep my cool.

"No, that's not it," Puck deduces further. "Oh my god… did she… did she rape you dude?"

"What? No," I protest, thinking immediately that maybe I shouldn't have.

"Is that a hickey?" he says confusedly, squinting his eyes a little in the dim light.

"No," I say, placing my hand over my neck, I can feel my ability to lie fading fast as he interrogates me. "She hit me."

"Just once? In the neck?" He says skeptically.

"Look can we please get out of here?" I say, changing the subject. "I have to get back to the headquarters, something big is happening.

"Alright, lets go, everybody's worried sick."

"Really?" I say as I follow him out.

"Well, Sim was worried," Puck explains.

It's dark out, but I can tell once I get outside that she had me holed up in some abandoned housing project on the outskirts of town, clearly she wanted to keep me close. I pile into Puck's car and he immediately speeds back to the headquarters.

"So, what's this big thing that's happening?" Puck says.

"I don't know, she wouldn't tell me any specifics, but I could tell that she was hiding something from me, something really bad."

"Okay, does she usually share the Sindicate's innermost secrets with you?" Puck says.

"No but…"

"But what?" Puck says, cutting me off. "Seriously dude, what exactly is going on with you and Headcase?"

"What do you mean?" I say, trying to conceal the fact that my blood has just run cold.

"I mean why didn't she kill you? She clearly had the chance, but instead she chains you up, takes off your clothes and brings you Chinese food? What the hell kind of super villain does that?"

"I don't-

"And what's with the hickey?" He says, cutting me off again. "Was she touching you inappropriately or not? Because if she was this bitch is crazier than we thought."

I breath deeply, I could just tell him that she raped me, but for some reason I can't, maybe because if I do he'll simply find more holes in that story later, or maybe because I'm just sick of lying, the truth is out of all of the people in the Peace Patrol, Puck was the most likely to keep my secret, and if he knew the truth then he would know how I could come to the conclusion that Sue had a massacre in her plans.

"Damage, Headcase did try to kill me," I start carefully, "She brought a gun to the founder's day ball and paralyzed me with her mind control powers and pressed it to my chin, she was ready to pull the trigger."

"Not that I'm not thrilled you're alive, but why didn't she?" Puck asks. "And how did she know it was you at the founders day ball? You went as your secret identity right?"

"She knows my secret identity Damage," I blurt, and he looks sideways at me for a second in shock before refocusing on the road.

"How does she know that, I mean I know she's a mind reader but that hasn't stopped the rest of us from keeping our second lives secret from her. She's never gotten close enough for long enough."

"She knows everything about me," I continue, revealing the information slowly, refusing to rip off that bandaid in one quick motion. "She knows my thoughts, my memories, my real name, everything. She knows me inside and out."

"How does she know all of that?"

"Because Damage," I say slowly, my voice cracking in fear. "_I_ have been close enough for long enough. I've been very very close to her for the past five years."

"How close?" Puck says, his voice going deep and serious, his expression darkening.

"Damage, you have to know that it's never gotten in the way of my job-

"How close Gadget?" Pucks repeats more firmly.

"The reason she couldn't kill me at the ball was because… because she has feelings for me, very strong ones. And I… I have feelings for her too."

I can feel my whole body lurch forward and the seatbelt dig painfully into my bare chest as he slams on the breaks.

"Are you crazy?" Puck scolds. "Are you out of your fucking mind?"

"It was before I joined the Peace Patrol," I explain. "I didn't mean for anything to happen, it just did."

"You betraying us just happened?" he says angrily.

"I didn't betray you," I argue. "I've always been loyal to you guys, the way I feel about her is completely separate from anything I've done for you, I mean I put her in jail didn't I?"

"So you're going to pull that out of your ass now, well congratu-fucking lations you did one thing right, but if you haven't noticed she's out now and instead of helping us put her back in you're fucking her? Some loyal friend you are."

"Look, I'm telling you this for a reason, I don't care if you're mad at me, I don't care if you hate me, but we have to find a way to stop Sue."

Puck's expression softens then, but only slightly. "How do you know that she's planning something?"

"Because Headcase wouldn't try to kill me unless Sue ordered it, she's never been interested in killing me before, just you guys."

"Well maybe she knows you're fucking her evil minion," Puck says bitterly.

"That's what Headcase thinks," I offer, making Puck's jaw tighten in anger. "But there's more to it than that, I know it. She's so scared Puck, I've never seen her this way before, but she won't go against Sue."

"What do you expect Gadget, she's a fucking psychopath."

"She's not like Sue Damage, I know she isn't."

"Wow, she must really be good in the sack," Puck shoots back, and it's all I can do to keep from punching him, I can't help it, in spite of her crazy I'll always have this inner urge to protect her just like a normal girlfriend.

"This isn't about me and Headcase. I just need you to trust me on this."

"How am I supposed to trust you after you telling me something like this?" he argues.

"Why else would I tell you the truth?" I explain. "Listen, you can't tell the others what I told you, I just need you to help me take Headcase in, if the rest of us can get to her than we can make her tell the truth."

"You would do that to your girlfriend?" Puck says snarkily. And I swallow hard at the thought of it.

"I have to do whatever it takes at this point," I say a bit sadly. "But we're just going to intimidate her into talking, you're not going to hurt her."

"How the do you know that?"

"That's not how we do things. Besides, if you do I'll fucking kill you," I say firmly, and I can tell by the look in his eyes that on some level he believes me, Puck was one of the few in the group who knew what I was capable of, I've saved his ass more than once.

"How are we going to get her back to the headquarters?" Puck says calmly.

"Once she realizes I'm gone she'll come after me, she's hellbent on protecting me from Sue."

"That would be sweet if it weren't so fucked up," Puck says. "But won't she be able to read your mind and find out what you're planning?"

"I have ways around that," I say. "I just have to think really hard about something else, it can't be anything random because she'll know that I'm tricking her, it has to involve the situation at hand, I just have to leave the details out of it."

"But won't she read my mind too?"

"Only if she knows you're there. Once we capture her it won't matter."

After a moment of hesitation he nods once and puts the car back in gear, continuing his drive toward the headquarters. "What happens if she tells them the truth?"

"I just have to risk it, it's just good to know that you won't."

"Of course I won't, _I'm_ not a traitor," He says the last word with noticeable spite.

_Please forgive me Rachel_, I think to myself, knowing that she's most likely not reading my mind right now, otherwise she would comment. _You made me do this._

**Stay tuned folks!**


	11. The Constant

**Just so you know, shit's about to get real.**

He's bluffing, I just know it. I'm going to go back to that basement and he'll be there waiting to apologize and thank me for saving his life. If I read his mind right now I'm sure I would hear him rehearsing a sweet speech for me, or thinking of all of the things he's going to do to me when I get back. I'm not afraid to listen to what he's thinking or anything, I just don't have to. I know my Finn, he can't just let me go, he wouldn't. He's my one constant, the one person I know will always love me for me, that's not going to change no matter what I do, so why should I put my life, my team, and my security in jeopardy when I don't have to? He almost got me though, I came this close to doing things his way, how silly of me.

I reenter the Sindicate headquarters ready to share with Sue the details of my successful "murder" of Finn Hudson. I think about what Sue told me, about what she had planned for the Peace Patrol. All the times she's tried to take them down and take over the city, this is the one plan of hers I think might actually work, and the truth is the thought scares me a little, on one hand, this city would probably be much better off in the hands of Sue anyway, surely she can keep order better than the dirty cops and crooked politicians in charge, and if a few bones need to be broken to get there, so be it, on the other hand, how many people are going to have to die to make that happen? How many of Finn's friends will have to pay the ultimate price? I've never approved of the company he keeps, but that doesn't mean I wish ill will on any of them. Being a bunch of elitist sheep who stripped Finn of his identity isn't a crime that deserves to be punished by death. Still, there's nothing I can do to stop it, I can only hope that all of the carnage will lead to something better in the long run.

"So, I heard you did the deed with Gadget," my blood runs cold at the sound of Warp's voice as I enter the headquarters, but it's the statement that startles me, not the fact that he snuck up on me.

"What?" I saw, feigning innocence.

"Sue told us, you finally took him out," Kurt explains, and I breath an inward sigh of relief. "To tell the truth I'm surprised you did it."

"Why, it's not like he's any match for me," I scoff.

"Was, past tense sweetie," Kurt says, and I nod knowingly. "I'm just surprised because you always seemed to get a kick out of going at it with that guy," God, does everything Kurt says have to be a double entendre? I give him a quick read but nothing in his thoughts seem to imply that he knows anything about me and Finn.

"He was entertaining, for a while," I say. "But fluke or not after he put me in jail I had to get ruthless."

"I know the feeling," Kurt says. "After my mom died, I… you know what, never mind, Sue wants to see you."

"No, tell me," I say, Sue can wait, the sad look on Kurt's face after mentioning his mom can't

"After my mom died I had to embrace my dark side," Kurt explains. "It was the only way I could find something resembling peace, it was the only way I could find the courage to avenge her, by reaching into the darkest depths of my soul."

I knew that Kurt murdered his mother's killer, a man who shot her to death in a carjacking done wrong, I read it, but I never really knew the details. I never felt right about searching his mind that way.

"The only problem is after that there was no going back. I could face life in jail and my father never looking at me the same way again, or I could own that part of myself that I had found when I crushed that man's brain with his own skull, that power."

"Are you saying it felt good to kill?" I ask, I really wouldn't know, I've never killed anyone I felt any significant way about, not even negatively.

"I'm saying it felt right," Kurt says.

"I think it felt right because he murdered your mother, you've never killed anyone who was innocent. Midnight Man never hurt anyone I cared about."

"He hurt us, he hurt you," Kurt argues.

"For what he thought was right," I argue back.

"You know. I don't get you," Kurt says. "You sound like you're in love with the guy half of the time."

"Were," I say after a bit of hesitation. "Past tense."

"That's more like it," he says, smirking.

"You say Sue wanted to see me?" I say, stopping the conversation in its tracks.

"She's in her office," Kurt says. "Anyway, congratulations on your first vengeance kill, we'll pop some champagne later."

"Yeah," I say as I walk away. "Sounds great."

* * *

><p>Unsurprisingly she's waiting there when I reach her office, all cold stare and confident stance, a little more surprisingly, Jesse is there too. I guess she's not going to waste any time putting the plan in motion. I swallow hard as I approach her. I don't know how long I'm going to be able to convince her that I succeeded in killing Finn, but I know that he's safe for now, which puts my mind at ease.<p>

"Why hello Headcase, you're looking well," Jesse says as I enter the sprawling office.

"Control Freak? What are you doing here?" I say casually.

"I thought we could include him in our little discussion about a certain hero you took down last night."

"Oh, Midnight Man, yes, I killed him," I say, mustering up as much confidence as I can. "He won't be a problem for us anymore."

"Good going little one, I'm proud of you," Sue says, clapping me on the back.

"But I still don't see what Control freak has to do with any of this," I say.

"Oh me?" Jesse says, gesturing toward himself. "I'm actually here for a very interesting reason, you see, you and I are very similar you know, where your powers falter mine thrive and vice versa, I've always thought we balanced each other out in a way."

"Um, yeah," I say, clearing my throat nervously. I wonder where he's going with this. "I've always thought that too."

"You see, you choose who you read, it's completely up to you who's thoughts you hear and who's futures and memories you see and when," Jesse continues. "But me, I'm limited to these random flashes that happen so rarely that I tend to forget that I can have them at all. No matter how hard I've tried developing my talents I can't grasp the power of selective telepathy."

I still don't understand why he's telling me things I already know. I so wish that I could read his mind.

"I used to think it was a weakness," Jesse continues. "I used to think that if I had more control over my telepathy I could be unstoppable, but now I realize that that isn't the case at all. You see in some ways my telepathy is even more useful than yours. While I may not be able to see what I want to, I often see exactly what I need to."

"Where are you going with this?" I say, narrowing my eyes at him a little and trying to hide the fact that my heart is pounding so hard right now. I was right, he had some sort of premonition about me and Finn, he knew, it's why Sue wanted me to kill him, the real reason. But I have to pretend like I don't know what he's talking about, I have to save face.

"You see our friend Control Freak here had a very interesting premonition about your boy gadget a few days ago," Sue says, confirming my fears.

I swallow hard. This isn't that bad. I killed him for all they know, so what if they knew we slept together, they don't have to know that it meant anything to me. "What kind of premonition?" I say, trying to keep my voice calm, a vision of us having sex was bad, but I could explain it away as a cheap thrill. The problem was knowing how much beyond that he saw.

"Sue isn't being quite specific enough, you see, the premonition wasn't about Gadget, or even you for that matter," Jesse continues. "That would be impossible, I can't get premonitions about you because of your powers and I can't get them about Gadget because I have to be in very close proximity to whoever spawns my visions."

That's right, when has he been close enough to Finn to get a vision from him? But who else could spawn a premonition if it weren't me or Finn? I wrack my brain, thinking of possible answers and coming up with nothing. I refuse to deny or confirm anything, I just remain silent. He hasn't even revealed what his vision was yet, no point in jumping the gun on explaining myself.

"You see Headcase, another good thing about this whole random vision thing is that I can read people that I don't even think to suspect," Jesse continues. "Someone who appears so fragile and innocent that nobody in their right mind would think to seek any valuable information from them.

Who is he talking about? I so wish that he would just tell me, this steady build-up thing is good for effect but that doesn't make it any les irritating.

"Jesse, who's future did you see?" I ask.

"Someone you don't know… not yet anyway," He continues. "Someone you won't know for I'd say another nine months or so."

At that hot tears instantly spring to my eyes and my hand reaches my stomach, no, it can't be. I have to pull it together, they can't know how I feel, too much is at stake.

"It's a girl by the way," Jesse says as I stand there in shock, clutching my stomach, trying to feel something there, but I don't have to for long. I know she's there now, I can see her so clearly. She's beautiful, and tiny and perfect and she looks like me and oh god she looks like Finn. I didn't read her future before because I didn't know that there was anyone's future to read, I must not be very far along, yet I can see her life unfold before my eyes, her as a baby, her as a beautiful young child running around a house and knocking over a lamp only to stop it in midair with her mind. My daughter, our daughter, she has powers too, and she has a family who loves her. I know because I'm in all of these visions too, reading to her, letting her sleep in my bed during a rain storm, teaching her about her powers. I'm there, but Finn isn't… where is he? Why isn't he there? Why isn't he there to teach her martial arts and how to build a stun bomb or a tiny surveillance robot that can crawl through air vents? Where is her father? Why wouldn't he be a part of all of this unless, unless he really meant what he said about being done with me. And I can't believe I'm thinking about this now, knowing that Jesse and Sue know that I'm pregnant with my arch enemies child.

"She's not his," I lie, there's no one else she could belong to.

"Really," Jesse says, clearly unconvinced. "Then who's is she?"

"What would make you even think that?" I continue, sticking to the story. "Why would I give myself to someone so beneath me."

"If the kid isn't his than why was she wearing his symbol in my vision," Jesse persists.

The midnight man symbol, A crescent moon with a winged creature flying across it. She wore it on a necklace. I saw it too. There has to be a way out of this, something, anything I could say to cover my ass.

"Listen, he didn't mean anything to me okay?" I insist. "It was just exciting for me, being with someone I shouldn't, that's it. but I never expected this to happen."

"I can believe that you didn't mean to get yourself knocked up," Sue says. "But I can't believe for a second that your little pet superhero means nothing to you."

"H-he didn't," I say, trying to keep my voice steady as Sue stares me down with her icy death gaze.

"Really," Sue says, chuckling a little, and that chuckle is somehow more terrifying than her screaming at me. "Then why didn't you kill him like I asked?"

The hairs stand up on the back of my neck as I shift my gaze from Sue to Jesse, who both look at me without an ounce of sympathy. I'm dead, that's all there is to it.

"I did," I lie, and badly at that. How could they possibly know I didn't kill him. Unless…

"I saw you Headcase." I turn my head at the sound of her voice, and see Tina appear out of nowhere.

"Spirit girl," I breath the name as I look at her, her face is so cold, like theirs. "You followed me that night."

"I've been following you every night since Control Freak had his premonition," She says angrily. "How could you do this to us?"

"Now calm down Spirit," Jesse says. "We're not here to reprimand our dear Headcase, we're here to get her back on the right side, isn't that right Sue?"

"That's right kiddo," Sue agrees.

"What are you going to do to us?" I say, protectively clutching my stomach.

"Don't worry, nothing is going to happen to the kid," Jesse says. "That is if you don't want anything to happen."

"What do you mean?" I cry, the tears are pouring down my face now as I slowly back away. So much had changed in the last few minutes, all of my friends discovered my betrayal, and I learned that I was going to be a mother, and Finn was going to be a father and for the first time in a very long time I have no idea what to do.

"You see Rachel, that child can be very valuable to us," Jesse says. "Imagine that kind of power, I'm just glad to see that your little friend's substandard genes didn't screw your kid out of her destiny."

"My baby has nothing to do with any of you," I say, still crying. "She has nothing to do with this life."

"But she can, she can help us rule the city, and you and I can be together and raise her as our own," Jesse says traipsing up to me slowly. "There's just the matter of your little friend."

"Listen, I know what I did was wrong, I shouldn't have lied, but I can't just-

"Here's how it's going to go down," Sue says, interrupting me. "You're going to find your little friend and you're going to kill him, simple as that."

"Why does it matter to you whether I kill him or not?" I argue.

"Because killing him is the only thing that will get you back on track," Sue says. "I don't want to lose one of my best assets, not to him of all people."

"I'm sorry," I cry. "I can't, I can't do this. I have a say, I've always had a say."

"Not anymore."

And at Sue's words I feel a stabbing pain in my neck and I turn to see Tina holding a syringe and staring at me with that same cold expression.

"What did you do?" I say, frantically placing my hand over the side of my neck. "What is this?"

"You know that special drug I told you about, the one that we transferred to gas form to set off on the Peace Patrol and make their powers go all wacky," Sue starts and my eyes go wide in fear. "Well guess what, you've just been injected with it."

"No," I exhale, panicked. "No please, you have to give me the antidote, please."

"I will," Sue says, "Once you kill your baby daddy. And if I were you I'd hurry, because that drug starts to take effect in about four hours and the effects get increasingly worse until you're basically driven to insanity, but not before you almost certainly kill your own baby. Now if you don't want that to happen I suggest you do what I say for once."

My heart breaks instantly in my chest as come to the most tragic realization of my life. If I wanted to save my baby, I would have to kill Finn.

**Stay tuned folks! **


	12. Powerless

We've been waiting for hours, for a sound, a voice, anything. I can tell that he's starting to lose patience, and I doubt that I'm his favorite person right now, but it says a lot that he's still here, that on some level he wants to trust me.

We don't speak to each other too much, all the better to keep him hidden from her, besides, he's still pissed at me and I'm too anxious to offer any words, I don't entirely know why, but I'm worried about Rachel. What if Sue didn't buy her story? What would she have done to her if she knew I was still alive, and worse, _why_ I was still alive, she wouldn't hurt her would she? Sue Sylvester was evil, no question, but Rachel was like a daughter to her. No, she wouldn't harm Rachel, still, where is she? Why hasn't she tried to contact me? Surely she must know that I've escaped, why the hell isn't she coming after me?

"That's it," Puck sighs in exasperation, standing up from his post. "Clearly your little girlfriend isn't coming."

"She'll be here," I insist.

"What makes you so sure?" Puck replies. "She probably knows that she'd be walking into a trap."

"Well she probably does now," I say under my breath. "But that doesn't matter, she's not going to just let me escape knowing that Sue wants me dead."

"I think you may be overestimating how much this chick cares about you."

"You're wrong," I argue, my voice hard. "I know you don't understand it, but she does love me."

He simply shakes his head at the declaration, as if he both doubts and pities me, I get it, I really do, if I were on the other side of this I'm not sure if I'd believe me either, but I know what's true, and that will have to be enough.

"He's right you know," my breath immediately catches in my throat at the sound of her voice behind me, and as I turn to face her part of me expects her to hit me or worse, but she doesn't, she simply stares at me, a look on her face I can't fully interpret. She looks anxious, scared, even a bit sad. "I know right? A villain in love with a hero, sounds silly doesn't it?"

"Sounds more like a load of crap to me," Puck shoots back.

"Puck, please," I protest, not taking my eyes off Rachel as I approach her slowly. "I'm sorry, I hate to have to do this, but we're taking you in, I brought Damage as backup so you know I mean business."

She simply chuckles a little, and I have to admit the reaction throws me.

"You're so cute," she says mockingly. "I love how you think I don't know that already."

"Just think about something else huh?" Puck says.

"Sometimes it works," I argue back.

"Oh sweetie, it never works," she says, almost sympathetically.

"Listen," I say, getting back to the subject. "I don't want to hurt you, you know that, but we need you to come quietly."

I don't fully understand what her deal is right now to be honest, she's not her combative self and I can't say it isn't throwing me off, but we're here for a reason, and we have to see it through.

"Okay," she says simply, and now I'm even more thrown than before, and clearly Puck is too.

"Wait, did you just say...

"I'll go with you," she confirms, interrupting Puck.

"Is this a trick?" Puck says.

"No," she says, shaking her head. "I'm turning myself in... Spiritgirl too."

"What!" I snap my attention to the angry voice and see the clearly befuddled supervillain appear out of thin air, and before I can even take the time to figure out what's happened Puck has attacked the girl, restraining her with his superhuman strength.

"Looks like you're not the only one who brought backup," Puck spits as Spiritgirl fruitlessly tries to struggle out of his grasp.

"I didn't bring her," Rachel explains. "Sue sent her... to make sure I did my job."

"Let me guess, the job is to kill me right?," I say bitterly as tears gather in her eyes.

"Headcase I swear to god you'll pay for this!" Spiritgirl yells as she continues to thrash. "You'll pay for this do you hear me?"

Before she can get another threatening word in Rachel turns to her blindsided ally and narrows her eyes, rendering her paralyzed.

"Sorry Spirit," Rachel says to the frozen girl in Puck's custody. "You were always a good friend, but my family comes first."

"Thanks," Puck says. "That was starting to get annoying. Seriously struggle against the guy with the superhuman strength, as if that'll do anything besides piss me off."

"HC are you going to tell me what's going on?" I say, careful not to reveal her real name to Puck.

"Are you kidding me?" Spirit says, breaking free from Rachel's temporary trance. "Did you seriously just-

And before she can get another word in Puck has thumped her hard in the side of the head, knocking her out instantly.

"Is she going to be alright?" Rachel says, appearing less concerned than she probably wants to.

"She'll be fine," Puck assures her. "I didn't hit her that hard... for me anyway."

Rachel merely nods quietly and faces me again.

"Are you alright HC?" I say, noticing the utterly pained look on her face.

And she shakes her head silently, and I so wish I knew what was wrong. She didn't even appear to be upset that I escaped, or that Puck knew our secret or even that I planned to put her away again, she seemed like something else was on her mind, something huge.

"Tell me what's wrong," I say, my voice softening, my hand coming up to touch her tear streaked face.

"I need your help," she says, her voice choked.

"Seriously, you actually expect him to help you after you kidnapped him and tried to kill him?"

"What kind of help?" I say, ignoring Puck, focusing on the distraught face of my lover.

"Gadget, what are you doing?" Puck says, frustrated. "She offered to turn herself in why are you still talking to her?"

"Because she wouldn't have given herself up unless she were in trouble," I reason.

"Or unless it's a trick," Puck shoots back.

"It's not a trick," she insists. "Finn I'm sorry, I never meant for any of this to happen, I was just trying to protect you," she continues miserably. And Puck be damned, because right now I can't not hold her. Mercifully he keeps quiet as I take her tiny, shaking body into my arms.

"I know HC," I say gently, stroking her hair. "I know you were."

"So you don't hate me?" she says in a small voice.

"Never," I reply, shaking my head. "I could never hate you."

She wraps her arms around me tighter, crying into my chest and I look at Puck, wishing I knew what he must be thinking right now.

"What do you need me to do?" I say in almost a whisper, and she looks at me then, her eyes wide and scared.

"I need the collar," she says softly, and I knit my brow in confusion. "That thing you built to supress powers."

"How do you know about that?"

"What part of I can read your mind do you have trouble grasping?" she answers.

"Wait, you built a device that can take away powers?" Puck says, understandably confused.

"Yes, anyone's," Rachel explains. It's true, I had been experimenting with power supression tools but why would she want them?"

"I don't even know if it works," I say truthfully, I hadn't tested it yet.

"It works, I've seen it work," she says, pointing to her temple.

"Why do you need it, tell me the truth?" I say seriously.

"Isn't it obvious, she wants to give it to Sue, a device that could suppress powers would be the perfect weapon against us."

"I don't want to use it on the peace patrol," she shoots back. "I want to use it on myself."

As confused as I was before it's tenfold now, why would she ever want to get rid of her powers? it didn't make any sense.

"HC I..."

"Please Finn, if you don't she'll die," Rachel says desperately, and to say that I'm thrown by that comment is putting it mildly.

'Who?" I ask, knitting my brow in confusion. She gives me that scared, wide-eyed look again and slowly her hand reaches her stomach, and before she even utters the words I feel lightheaded, but she says them anyway, and my entire world changes with those words.

"Our daughter," she says quietly, tearfully.

"Holy shit," Puck says under his breath, and I want to say something too but I can't breathe, instead I listen as she finally explodes.

"He knew, Control Freak saw her before I even knew she was there," she sobs. "And he told Sue and now she knows everything Finn, she knows that I love you, that I love you so much and that I let you give me a beautiful little girl who looks just like both of us. And she knew that I couldn't do it, that I couldn't kill you unless I had a very good incentive, so she gave me one. She gave me a drug that makes me lose control of my powers, in less than an hour I'll hear every voice within 100 miles, I'll project my thoughts into random people, I'll kill everyone who's unfortunate enough to stand too close to me, and I'll...

She trails off, trying to catch her breath, and I stand there, still utterly at a loss for words.

"I'll kill our child Finn, she'll die inside of me and I won't be able to stop it. And the only way Sue will give me the antidote is if I kill you, she wants me to do it myself to punish me for loving you, but I can't, I can't do it...

I finally take her into my arms again, rocking her gently, telling her it's all going to be okay even though I'm every bit as terrified as she is. She's pregnant, I'm going to be a father and the mother of my child is being forced to kill me.

"It's the only way, I've thought it over again and again," she says. "Please, give me the collar before I hurt her, please Finn."

I look at Puck again, he hasn't said a word. "Still think it's a trick?" I say a bit coldly. He doesn't answer, and I reach for the back of my utility belt then. I usually don't keep prototypes on me, but this is one I had planned to test in action should the opportunity come up.

"Wait," she says, stopping me before I can fasten the device around her neck. "Before you do this... do you want to see her."

"Our baby?" I say, getting choked up all of a sudden, and she nods with a weak smile and grabs my hand in hers, pressing it against her stomach, I don't feel anything there yet but when she holds her hand over mind and uses the other to cup the back of my head and pull me towards her, touching her forehead to mine, I close my eyes and without warning I see her in my mind. It's frightening how instantly and powerfully I fall in love with her, with her eyes, so much like mine, and her smile, so much like Rachel's and everything else about this child that I can't believe is really mine, really ours, and as she sets me free from the vision I miss her immediately.

"Oh my god," I say, my voice breaking. "she's so beautiful."

"She is isn't she?" Rachel says tearfully, and I kiss her then, deeply and longingly, with every ounce of love in my heart, and as I draw away, I finish my task, fastening the collar, freeing her from her powers, a temporary fix until we can find that antidote. I press the right buttons and the blue light comes on and by the look of relief on her face I can tell that for the first time she can't hear a word I'm thinking.

"Okay," She says, turning to Puck. "I'll go quietly."

STAY TUNED FOLKS!


	13. Joining Forces

I still can't believe that this is happening, the lenths I'm forced to go to to protect my child, to protect my Finn. I sold out my friend, relinquished my powers, exposed Sue's plot, and now I'm on the verge of joining up with my enemies to take down the woman who raised me. I know that she pushed me there, Tina too, by threatening my child and the man that I love they left me no choice. I just wish it were easier, that I didn't feel so out of place, that I hadn't had to ride back to their headquarters with Damage and a gagged and bound Tina giving me the stinkeye all the while. The Sindicate doesn't trust me anymore and the Peace Patrol never did. I can't say I blame them, I probably wouldn't trust me either.

"Are you going to be okay?" Finn says, gently squeezing my hand.

"The constant buzzing is a little annoying," I say, adjusting the collar currently shooting a mild electrical current through my brain, apparently Finn got the idea to create a power blocking collar when Kid Kinetic got a bad shock from a fence and couldn't run faster than 15 miles per hour for the next ten minutes. The mild continuous shock doesn't completely block my powers, just disables them to the point where I can't hear anything more than a random word or phrase every now and then, completely without context and helpful to me in no way whatsoever. Leave it to Finn to find the one weakness most if not all metahumans share in addition to the ones specific to our powers, it's why most of us have rubber in our costumes.

"You know that's not what I mean," he says, leaning in, brushing his thumb over my knuckles.

"As long as she's safe nothing else matters," I reply.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to her," he insists. "Or you."

"I know you won't" I say, smiling up at him warmly, and we both ignore the way Damage scoffs a little.

I haven't told Finn the truth, not the whole truth, about how he didn't appear in any of the visions I had of my child, the last thing I want to do is worry him when he's already up against so much. there's no way he can keep our affair a secret now, too much is at stake, and when they find out it could very well be the end of him being a peace patrol member. I always silently wished that he would leave them all behind, but not like this. I know why he told Damage the truth, and while in any other case I would gladly beat him to within an inch of his life for that, there are simply bigger things going on now.

I know that Finn is freaking out a lot more than he wants to let on, that he's probably terrified on the inside, I know that even without being able to read his thoughts, but he keeps the calm front up surprisingly well, I guess he has no other choice in the matter.

"Finn?" I say in a small voice."What are they going to do?"

"They're going to lock you up and swallow the damn key that's what they'll do," Puck says, the first words he's spoken the whole ride over.

"Damage, please." Finn says firmly. "Now isn't the time."

"Well tell me this, when the hell will it be the time?" He says. "When will it be the time to bring up just how much you screwed us over?"

"She's helping us," Finn says. "Can't you find just a little bit of comfort in that?"

"Says the guy who knocked up a supervillian," Damage says bitterly.

"Listen Damage," I say calmly, I know you don't trust me, I don't expect you to, but I'm going to do whatever I can to protect Finn."

"Like you protected him all those times you beat the crap out of him?" Damage shoots back.

"Smacking him around is one thing," I argue. "And I tried to kill him, I'll admit that, I had the gun to his head and I was ready to pull the trigger, but I couldn't, I love him more than anything in the world and you may not be able to trust me, but trust that."

"I don't," Puck says. "Love isn't something you people are capable of." And I don't know why but I'm actually hurt that he would say that, Finn must notice because he narrows his eyes in anger at his friend.

"Listen, you can be pissed at me all you want, but give her a goddamn break, she just gave up everything," Finn says.

"And that just makes up for all of the shit she put us through?"

"No," Finn says truthfully, and I can't say I'm too bothered by that comment, it's not as if I'm looking for some sort of redemption. "But lashing out at her isn't helping matters, If Sue succeeds nothing will be able to stop you from pummeling random innocents to death and Tantrum from burning the city to the ground. If we're going to stop her we have to work together."

"Okay, He says coldly, and at that he looks back at Tina, fuming with rage and struggling uselessly against her restraints. "But I'm going to end with this, she betrayed her friend without a second thought, can you be 100 percent sure that she wouldn't do the same to you?"

There's only silence after that.

* * *

><p>Entering the Peace Patrol headquarters is like entering a strange foreign land, the only thing that brings me the slighest bit of comfort is Finn walking in next to me.<p>

They're all I have in the world now, him and our little girl, and I will do anything and everything I can to keep them safe, even turning myself over to the superfriends, I just have to trust that he'll protect me too. The space is actually not too different from Sue's own headquarters, the size, the big metal double doors, the air of quiet intimidation. The only real difference is that the coldness of it all doesn't seem the least bit intentional. I reach out to grab Finn's hand as we enter what is likely to be an ambush, and he squeezes right back.

"They're not going to hurt you," Finn insists.

"Are they going to try?" I ask nervously.

"Probably," Damage says, shrugging and I subconsciously move closer to Finn as we finally come face to face with the very people I've spent the last several years of my life hating.

Somehow I knew they wouldn't hesitate to attack me, and I knew even more surely that tantrum would be the first to strike, my prediction is confirmed when a blast of fire the size of a basketball hurtles toward me, and the last thing I see before Finn pushes me out of the way is the angry fire behind her eyes.

I look behind me to see where the fireball hit and see Finn on the ground writhing in pain, and if this was the reason Finn didn't appear in my visions nothing was going to stop me from strangling the bitch.

"Finn!" I cry out in a panic, rushing to my lover's side. And as she prepares to throw another at me, clearly having no remorse for injuring Finn, Damage stops her in her tracks with his commanding voice.

"Stop!" Damage cries. "This isn't what it looks like."

"Did we finally get a shapeshifter? Can she turn into Pocahontas because I've always wanted to meet Pocahontas," Chatterbox says exitedly, and I don't know whether I've never been able to read her thoughts because her powers are psychic or if there's simply nothing there to read.

"No, she's who she looks like, and she's with us, she surrendered." Puck explains calmly, and I don't pay attention as they continue to talk amongst themselves and I hold Finn's disoriented head in my lap and stroke his hair, my mind in a panic.

"Finn, baby are you alright?" I say frantically, tears beading in my eyes, and I breath a small sigh of relief when he starts to sit up.

"I'm fine," he says with a bit of struggle. "She's hit me harder than that just for fun."

"Hold up," Tantrum says, regaining my attention. "Did she just call him 'baby'?"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you," Puck explains as I hold Finn closer, staring at them with guarded eyes as their own burn into me with seething hatred.

"Gadget's in love with Headcase," Puck continues and their eyes go from me to Finn, who swallows hard, and fighting against the intense fear he must be feeling he wraps his arms around me protectively, confirming Damage's words.

"It's true," Finn says, his voice choked. "Sim was right."

"You knew about this?" Ice Queen says angrily.

"I didn't know anything for sure," Sim says defensively. "I just got some emotional readings on him that made me suspect it."

"Oh shit!" Tantrum exclaims. "I knew it, I just knew you'd end up fucking us all over."

"Did you not hear him?" I say snappishly. "I'm turning myself in. And I have information on Sue that you might be interested in."

"And why would you help us?" Ice Queen says in a tone that truly does her name justice.

"I'm not doing this for you," I spit. "I'm doing this for Finn."

"Also she's knocked up, Sue threatened to kill her kid," Puck adds.

"Well this just gets better and better," Tantrum groans.

"How could you do this to us?" Kid Kinetic interjects. "You don't sleep with the enemy no matter what th circumstances are. I don't care how hot Spiritgirl is I know where my loyalties lie."

"You think I'm hot?" The disembodied voice of Tina asks before she appears out of thin air. She's still bound tightly but she appears to have struggled out of her gag at some point.

"Okay, now what's she doing here?" Tantrum says in frustration.

"She surrendered Spiritgitl too, in exchange for your trust," Finn says.

"Well that certainly won't be happening," Ice Queen says, and somehow there's more than just anger in her voice, it's more like a combination of anger and hurt. "But as long as she's here, Kinetic, take her to holding," he does what he's told, getting up to take Tina away, and somehow, even after what she did to me, I stil feel guilty.

"Damage, me and Tantrum want to have a few words with Finn, take Headcase to a cell, we'll deal with her later."

"Wait," I cry before Damage can seperate me from Finn, and not caring what they think I throw my arms around Finn and hold him tight, letting him hold me and rub my back comfortingly.

"You have to go with him now HC," he says gently, tears in his voice. "But I promise we'll be together again, I promise you that."

"I love you," I say, and I press my lips to his desperately, wanting to memorize the way his lips feel on mine, not wanting to let go, but not having a choice as Damage breaks us apart.

"I love you too," he says as Puck drags me away, and this is the Finn I love so deeply, the one who can tell me he loves me in front of all of them in spite of his fear, The Midnight Man.

* * *

><p>"I just don't get it," Damage says as he locks the door to my tiny glass cell. "Why Finn?"<p>

"Why Ice Queen?" I shoot back.

"You would know about that," he says bitterly.

"You have to admit you two wouldn't exactly make sense either, she's class incarnate and you have a mohawk for chissakes, but you love her anyway, even if you don't have the guts to admit it."

"Yeah, buy you're forgetting one thing, she's not a supervillain," he argues.

"And that's all I am to you isn't it?" I say. "It's all I'll ever be, but to Finn I'm so much more, he's the only person in my life who's had the guts to love me for who I am, not what I do. Besides, you know Finn better than anyone here, if you can't understand why I love him based on that, then I don't know if you ever will."

His eyes appear to soften at that point, surely he must know that I'm sincere. I don't know what else I could possibly say to make him see it.

"Listen, I know you don't understand it, but I do love him," I say earnestly. "All I'm asking is that you at least try to believe that." "

That's the crazy thing," he sighs."I think I'm starting to."

**STAY TUNED FOLKS!**


	14. Lovers and Liars

I actively force myself not to cower down in my seat as they glare daggers at me, Quinn and Santana, fire and ice. I realize that I had no choice, They had to know what they were up against, but I couldn't let them hurt Rachel, I couldn't let them hurt my baby. I kept it hidden for five years, it was bound to blow up in my face eventually. I'm not saying I regret any of it, I don't, I don't regret a single touch or kiss or I love you, because I meant them all, and I know she did too. I just hate not knowing what happens next, being at the mercy of the people I spent the last five years lying to.

"Start talking toolbox," Santana spits, murder in her gaze.

"There's nothing to say," I respond. "Not about her. What's important is that we keep Sue from hijacking your powers."

"So that's it, you just expect us to let this go?" Quinn scoffs.

"I'm just saying there are bigger things going on right now," I explain. "HC knows what the plan is, she knows everything."

"You must really think I'm stupid if you expect me to trust her, how do you know this all isn't a part of Sue's plan?" Santana fires back.

"Because I know her, better than anyone, even Sue," I reply.

"That's sweet," Santana sneers. "So do you want to kick his ass or can I have the pleasure?"

"Tantrum, please," Quinn says firmly, her eyes still fixed on me. "She is right you know, this could easily be a set up."

"It's not a set up," I insist. "She wouldn't do that, I know it's hard for you to believe but she isn't like Sue, she's not. She's just..."

"Let me guess, misunderstood?" Santana says sarcastically.

"Actually yes," I say firmly. "She's had a hard life and she's done some bad things but she's not evil, nobody who loves the way she does could really be evil."

"And but loves you mean fucks am I right?" Santana shoots back.

"Enough!" I fume, shooting up from my chair, at that she takes a step back, conjuring a fireball in defense.

"Do you think I'm scared of you?" I say, not backing down, even as she threatens me.

"Oh I know you are toolbox, not even you're that dumb," she says, the fire still burning above the palm of her hand.

"Don't you know how it feels, to love someone?" I continue, still towering over her. "To really love them no matter what, even if you don't agree with the things that they do or the life they choose. It's not something that you can just turn off, because believe me I've tried. I never wanted to feel this way, but it happened, and you know what, I'm not sorry. I'm sorry that I wasn't more honest, especially to you Ice, but I'm not sorry for being in love with her, and I'm not sorry for doing whatever it takes to protect my daughter."

"Don't bring your bastard into this-"

"Tantrum," Quinn cuts in before I can unleash my fury on Santana "Can you leave us alone for a second?"

"What?" she says, looking offended as the fireball in her hand disappears in a puff of smoke,

"That's an order," she says, still looking at me.

"This is so not over toolbox," Santana says before marching out of there angrily.

I find Quinn incredibly hard to read as she stands there in silence, as if trying to figure out just the right words to cut me with, but the ones she chooses are the last I would ever expect.

"Finn," she says, and I'm a little thrown off by the use of my real name, and even more by how calmly she says it. "Do you ever wonder why Damage and I never really speak to each other? Outside the meeting room I mean."

I have no idea where she's going with this, but it probably wouldn't be wise to ask, so instead I just shake my head a little.

"Noah Puckerman wasn't born meta, not like the rest of us," she starts, I know that much, his powers didn't surface until his mid 20's, an oddity in the superhuman circle. "A few years back he volunteered for this top secret medical trial, I'm not entirely sure what the details of it were, perhaps some type of genetic engineering, but in the end he went from normal if enviably athletic human to what he is today."

That part I didn't know, I always assumed that he was a particularly late bloomer. "Why would he do that?" I ask, sure, anybody who's anybody wants to be special, powerful, as the only member of a superhero team without any powers I know that better than anyone, but to actually put yourself at risk for that kind of power, seemed reckless, even for him.

"I can't tell you the reason they want you to believe, but I'd imagine it has something to do with being the perfect athlete and all that other nonsense," Quinn says. "But I know the truth, he thinks I don't but I know."

Even though I still don't know what any of this has to do with me, I can't help being intrigued. "Why?"

"Because of me, and because of Beth," she says, a bit sadly, I had never heard that name before in my life, but judging by the tears that Quinn is clearly trying not to let fall, Beth is someone very important to her.

"I'm sure looking at me now you would never guess that I had a baby at sixteen would you?" she says, and although I try to hide my surprise I can tell I'm not doing the best job.

"You, you have a daughter?"

"Had a daughter," she corrects, wiping away at her tears. "She's someone else's now."

"I'm sure it was the right thing to do Quinn, I mean, you were just a kid yourself," I say comfortingly.

"I was a kid with money, and help," She responds. "I could have kept her, I wanted to keep her and I would have kept her if it weren't for one thing... She wasn't like me."

"She didn't have any powers," I deduce.

Quinn merely nods. "I'm ninth generation meta, my parents never would have let a normal child be a part of the Fabray legacy, so they found her a family and paid off the Puckermans-"

"Wait a minute, Damage? Damage is your baby's father?" I say, bewildered.

"You're not the only one with secrets," she says. "Two metas will always produce a meta child, but there's only a fifty percent chance that one will be born to a set of mixed parents. He wanted that power, he wanted that redemption, a second chance to be with me, to have a family with me that my parents could accept, but the most I could give him was a spot on the team, anything else... it just hurt too much." she doesn't even bother wiping away the tears anymore.

"Let me get this straight, you had a baby together, kept it a secret and now you just pretend it never happened? Even after he put his life at risk just to be with you?" I say a bit more judgmentally then I mean to.

"That's the difference between you and me," she says, ice in her voice. "I don't let my feelings dictate my life, I could never do what you did."

"Bullshit," I fire back, causing her to give me a hard look. "You may fight your feelings but you're not winning Quinn, you're miserable."

"I choose to be miserable for the good of my team, I choose to keep my emotions out of it, I don't risk getting people killed because I'm _so in love_" she continues, saying the last part a bit mockingly.

"Then why did you hire Damage?"

"Because he's an invaluable asset."

"Maybe, or maybe you just felt guilty, maybe that's the same reason you took a chance on me."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I remind you of her," I explain. "A powerless human among Gods, unwanted, just like Beth."

I know she wants to yell, to scream, to freeze me in a block of ice and leave me to die, but all she can do is look at me with silent rage.

"You thought if you could fix me, make me a part of the team, make me more like you than you could be redeemed somehow for letting them take her away from you," I continue, noticing the pain and anger in her eyes but not being able to stop myself as I tear apart her facade. "But I'm not like you Quinn, I'm not like any of you and I never have been."

"Don't you think I know that?" she snaps. "But that's no excuse for betraying us,"

"I didn't betray you," I argue. "You can believe me or not but I'm here to help you and so is she, all I'm asking is for you to trust us."

"Why should I?" she says quietly.

"Because face it Quinn, you don't have any other choice."

She remains silent, and I know that I've gotten to her.

"Fine," she says coldly. "But when all of this is over, you can consider your Peace Patrol membership dissolved."

I swallow hard, I knew it was coming, on some level I even accepted it, but still, the words sting more than I would have thought. "It's the price I'm willing to pay if it means saving this city and my family," I finally say. At that she nods once and prepares to exit, but turns once more to face me.

"Just answer me one question," she says. "Why her?"

"Because..." the truth is there are so many reasons why I love Rachel, she's smart, strong, beautiful, and good in a way that nobody else understands, but above all...

"She sees me," I say simply.

* * *

><p>I'm not allowed to leave the headquarters, Agent Schuester and Ice Queen are considering it a form of unofficial house arrest, but unlike Rachel and spirit I'm not confined to a tiny cell. I'm worried for Rachel, all alone, worse than a pariah, although I can't say I don't know what that's like, my team hates me too.<p>

Santana is on guard duty now, and I hate the thought of having to ask her for anything but I need to see her.

"Tantrum," I say, finding her in the surveillance room, and I see Rachel on the screen, pacing the floor of her cell, her tights and corset traded for drab gray separates. I see nothing in Spiritgirl's cell, but since there's no possible way for her to get out without someone noticing it can be safely said that she's simply turned herself invisible.

"What do you want traitor?" Santana says angrily.

"I want to see her," I say, to which she expectedly scoffs.

"Keep dreaming toolbox."

"Santana please," I say, and I know she hates it when I use her real name, but it seems more sincere. "You've won okay, I'm off the team, what more do you have to gain?"

"This isn't about pissing you off, although that's definitely a plus," She says. " This is about the safety of my team, I'm not going to have you conspiring with her in there."

"If I were going to conspire with HC don't you think I would have done all that before I brought her here?" I reason. "Besides, your cameras have audio, how little faith do you have in agent Schuester's security system?"

She still doesn't budge, and I can't say I really expected her to.

"Santana please, just do this for me," I plead. "I know you hate me and maybe you have a right to, but you never have to deal with me again after this." I end with a sincere, pleading look and although she doesn't allow her face to soften, I can see in her eyes that the begging did the trick, and after a bit of hesitation she groans heavily and presses the necessary buttons to open the first sliding door to Rachel's cell.

"Thank you," I say, stepping inside.

"Don't thank me, I'm only doing this out of morbid curiosity, that's it." I don't care why she's doing it, I don't even care that she'll be watching, I only care about Rachel. The first door behind me closes and the one in front of me opens and I barely get a glimpse of Rachel before she flings herself into my arms.

"What took you so long?" she cries into my chest, and I hug her back. "I hate not being able to hear what you're thinking, everything feels lonelier."

"I'm right here," I assure her. "It's okay."

"It's not okay Finn," she says, breaking free from my embrace. "I have no home, no friends, and my baby is going to be born in a prison cell, how is that okay?"

"Once you save Lima City and throw Sue in Jail not a jury in their right mind would convict you," I insist.

"Even if they don't, where am I going to go?" she says miserably. "Where do I belong now?"

"With me," I say earnestly and my hand reaches her stomach. "With her."

She places her hand over mine and squeezes a bit, but as soon as her smile appears it immediately falls. "You're a hero Finn, it's who you are, there's no place for me in your world."

"It's our world now HC," I say, cupping her face in my hands and wiping away a fresh tear. "This is our family, we're a team now."

"A team, just the three of us?" she cries, her smile returning.

"Lets face it HC, the only place we've ever really fit in is with each other'." I know as soon as I say it that it's true, if she doesn't belong in my world and I don't belong in hers, we'll create one together, I can't be like Quinn, I can't ignore my heart for what's supposedly right and good, there is no good without love. Rachel kisses me then, hard and deep, stealing my breath from my body and whatever thoughts were coursing through my brain, and I kiss back, picking her up and backing her against the wall like I used to. Either Santana will turn away from the camera or she won't, I find it hard to care, we both need this, and to tell the truth I'm still a little pissed at her for almost killing my baby, whether she knew about it or not. I'm gentler than usual as I enter Rachel's body, careful not to harm the fragile life inside of her.

"So," she pants as I thrust in and out, "Does this mean you're Midnight Man again?"

I breath hard, not stopping, trying to find the words lost in the passion of this moment, and I finally utter them, knowing that what I'm saying never stopped being true, not really.

"Deep down," I choke out with some struggle. "I always was."

**As if Santana Didn't hate Finn enough already. Stay tuned folks!**


	15. Team Hudson

**I know I said that I would be switching off between Rachel and Finn's POVs between chapters, but this particular chapter will be a bit different, I just couldn't find away around it, but I'm sure you'll be pleased. Anyhow, enjoy, and I know I sound like a broken record, but I apologize again for the super slow update, especially since I said this would be up thursday.**

"What we need is the perfect delusion, one that those capes won't be able to resist, one that they can't ignore. The only problem is finding them." I say as I pace the floor and Sue and the rest process my words.

"We may not be able to find the Peace Patrol's headquarters, but we can find Agent Will Schuester," Artie offers. "I say you put the whammy on him and his fellow officers, let him get the message back to the capes himself."

"I like the way you think Wiseguy," Sue says,

"I'm inclined to agree, they trust Agent Schue, if he tells them to jump they'll ask which bridge," Mercedes adds.

"You're right," I respond. "Will Schuester is the man I have to target, he's just weak and accessible enough to manipulate, yet powerful enough with the peace patrol to set this whole thing in motion."

"As much as I'm loving this whole evil scheming business I have to ask," Kurt interjects. "Are we really not going to talk about why Spirit and Headcase are AWOL at pretty much the most important meeting in Sindicate history?"

I was waiting for someone to ask that question. Nobody besides me, Sue and Spirit know about the side operation to take down Gadget, so nobody knows how utterly stressed out I am right now. They should be back by now, Gadget should be dead and I should be making strides toward bringing Headcase back to our side. I know I should be angrier with her for tainting her child, soon to be my child with that substandard human's blood, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't see something like this coming, I always got the feeling that part of her felt like something was missing here, that part of her wanted a taste of what it was like to be a hero, it's so obvious, with all of her rules about not killing innocents (although roughing them up if they got in her way was a different story), the jobs she sat out on because they involved hurting kids or animals, her ever baffling code of honor.

Now she's gone so far as to sleep with the enemy. I should have done more before it was too late, but now that she's done the unthinkable and gotten herself pregnant with a Peace Patrol bastard I had no choice but to take drastic measures, Gadget had to die and she had to be the one to do it, killing him is the only thing that will bring her back and we did everything in our power to push her over the edge, to push her to kill him, so why isn't Gadget's dead body hanging from a meat hook in our freezer right now? Even as I try to appear confident, going over the plan, my head is a mess right now, I can think of nothing else but Headcase and why she hasn't returned, it's been well over four hours, and she hasn't returned to trade her dead lover in for the life-saving antidote, how could she have possibly gotten around this?

"Headcase and Spirit have a little side operation going, nothing to worry your pretty head about Warp," I assure him, I won't tell the others what she's done, they can't very well be allowed to think that Sue has lost control of her most trusted minion, once they start to doubt Sue's power they'll stray, It's something she's always had at the back of her mind, even with me.

"A secret side operation, since when is that a thing?" Kurt continues, much to my annoyance.

"It's none of your concern!" Sue snaps, her commanding voice immediately making Kurt sink in his seat a bit. At that she cracks a small smile and walks up to him, placing a hand upon his shoulder "Now porcelain, in a matter of hours, Lima City will be at our mercy, everything I've ever promised you will be yours, isn't that what you want?" she squeezes his shoulder a bit more and lowers herself down to his level, her voice going low as she speaks into his ear. "Isn't that what your mother would want for you?"

"Yes madam Sylvester," Kurt says quietly.

"Good, then we understand each other, " she says, clapping him on the back "Dr. Smythe has the canisters placed all around Lima City square, ready to go off when the Peace Patrol assembles there, your job is to fight them, like always, keep them from destroying the city, and when you've effectively vanquished the biggest threat our city's ever been up against there will be nothing stopping me from taking things over once and for all, I should have tried this hero stuff years ago."

Somehow I can't help but think this is going to be harder than we originally thought.

* * *

><p>I can tell that she's more upset than she's willing to let on, it's her job to be confident and collected in the meeting room, but now in the privacy of her office, with only me, her occasional whipping boy there as a witness I can see her rage quickly bubbling to the surface, and I know through no fault of my own it's largely directed at me.<p>

"Find her, find her now, take that useless pea brain of yours and focus it on something other than perfecting that low rent romance novel cover model hairdo of yours," Sue roars.

"I told you I can't, she's protected from my powers and even if she weren't my prophecies and visions can't be controlled, you know that."

In a rage she hurls a desktop vase across the room, smashing it, I try not to flinch as the shards of glass fly toward me.

"God can you be anymore useless to me?" she spits.

"You do realize it's me who's setting this whole plan in motion right?" I remind her.

"Minor insignificant detail," she says dismissively. "Why didn't this work? I didn't give that girl an out, I didn't give her a choice, why isn't Gadget's head mounted on my trophy room wall?"

"Maybe she was overpowered," I suggest hesitantly, the very thought makes me sick, in spite of everything I still care about her, when I think about the possibility of that neanderthal taking her down it makes me rage.

"Not a chance," She says. "He's no match for her."

"He was once," I say, ashamed to admit it.

"Because he was fucking her," Sue shoots back. "I always wondered what his secret was, but boy toy or not she wouldn't let him hurt that baby, she would have killed him to protect her, that was the plan, it was a damn good plan so why didn't it work?

"Look, we'll find her okay," I say, getting up from my seat.

"The time has passed, the drugs have kicked in already, with her powers she won't survive long," Sue says, seeming almost remorseful.

"Unless..." I start, knitting my brow in speculation.

"What are you getting at," Sue says, almost annoyed.

"Maybe she found a way around the drugs," I suggest.

"And how the hell would she do that? Has she secretly been a chemistry genius all this time and I just didn't know about it?"

"Rachel's a genius all right, but not the kind you're thinking," I continue. "She found someone to help her, she must have."

Sue looks at me ponderously, even she has to admit it makes sense, we didn't know the full extent of what the Peace Patrol was capable of, maybe they knew things even we didn't about hijacking a meta's powers. At the realization I expect Sue to look relieved, because at least that would mean she was still alive, and I'm thinking she'll march out of the room, determined to put her next move in action, but instead she just looks pissed.

"You unstoppable moron!" she fumes. "We were supposed to get her back not send her straight to them."

"Sue, it was your idea-

"That's madam Sylvester to you!" she seethes, cutting me off. "Listen to me Fabio, we're going to fix this, once we've unleashed Smythe's special wacky gas on the capes we're going to get Headcase and her bastard back on team Sue.

"What if we can't?" I reply quietly.

"Then she dies," Sue responds, sending a chill down my spine. "If she doesn't see the light I'll send that little troublemaker into the infinite dark."

* * *

><p>I wish I didn't believe her, I wish I could just brush off everything she said to me and not give it a second thought, things were just so much easier when everything was black and white, good and evil, right and wrong, where does she get off making me doubt everything I've known for years, everything I gave up my normal life for? I don't know how any of this happened, but when she looked me in the eye and told me she loved Finn, I couldn't ignore her, no matter how much I wanted to, she knows everything about me, and in spite of what Finn said (probably to protect me from knowing the full extent of her gifts, keep my mind at ease, the man's not<em> that<em>naive) she probably knows my real name too, or at least she could if she cared enough to find out, she even knows about Quinn, and I've never told a soul about that, so I can only imagine she knows everything about Finn, about his past and his secrets, things he wouldn't even share with me, with the rest of us. You couldn't see that deeply inside of someone like Finn and not give a shit, she was right, and I hate myself for trusting her but I can't not, not after everything she gave up. I can't help it, I know I'm the biggest sucker on the planet right now, but I have to talk to him, I have to let him know that even though I hate him for lying, and for putting us in danger by letting his cock do the thinking for him, I have to let him know that on some level, I understand. He's always been a good friend to me, much better than I have been to him, and I'm thinking he needs someone to understand him right about now.

His head is down, his fingers are woven together on his lap in that odd thoughtful pose he makes sometimes and I can tell that he's lost in thought because he doesn't even look up as I come in, it's only when I place a hand on his shoulder that he seems to notice that I'm there.

"Back to yell at me some more?" He says under his breath.

"Not this time,"I insist, taking a seat next to him. "So, you're going to be a dad, that's big."

He nods, a bit of a smile reaching his face at the thought, I know that smile, I wore that smile myself once, not anymore.

"Listen, I really am sorry," he says, looking me in the eye, his voice cracking. "I'm sorry I lied, especially to you, you're my best friend here Puckerman.

"Look man, you may be a dick for lying but I get why you did," I say, and his eyes grow warm at my words. "It's not like I've never had a big secret before."

"You and Quinn, I know," he offers, and my jaw tightens a little, and I nod.

"Your girl tell you that?" I say, my voice hard.

"No, Quinn did," he replies. "You love her don't you?"

"It doesn't matter how I feel," I answer. "I changed everything for her but it didn't make a bit of damn difference, I have a duty now, to this team and that's all I have left. And that's why I owe it to all of us to convince them to keep you on board."

"I made my decision, I have to look out for my kid now, I have to do what's best for my family, and If I can't be with her I can't stay here, you know that," Finn says.

"I know that's what you're worried about," I start. "But if Headcase is right about all of this, if she can help us beat Sue, maybe they'll let her join."

"You know that's not going to happen, and even if they do they're going to torture her, you know how hard they made things on me just for not having any powers, I can only imagine what they'll put her through."

"So what are you going to do, just leave the game for good?" I argue. "You're a hero man, that's who you are, it's who you've always been, you can't just give that up."

"I won't" he says firmly. "I'll always fight for the greater good, I'm just a part of a new team now."

"Team Hudson?" I say teasingly.

"Team Hudson," he repeats, trying it out. "I like the sound of that."

"So, when you saw your kids future could you tell... I mean, is she?"

"Like me?" he asks, and I nod. "Well, she has my freckles, but no, she's like her, she's a meta. A telekinetic."

"Damn, we really could have used one of those," I joke, "But hey, it must've been cool seeing the two of you in action, all Batman and Robin, you know, without the undertones."

"I guess I'll have to wait and see," he says shrugging. "I wasn't there."

"You weren't in her vision?"

"I didn't think anything of it, I guess she just wanted to show me my daughter in the time we had, I already know what _I_ look like.

"Yeah, but still-

"Big trouble in Lima City Square guys," Santana interrupts, marching in. "Agent Schuester requests assistance, from all of us. There's been a massive disturbance."

"What kind of disturbance?" Finn asks.

"Dont talk to me perv," Santana snaps, "I'm not done washing my eyeballs yet after that little stunt you pulled."

"What happened?" I say, shooting up from my seat as Finn does the same.

"They don't know whether it's terrorist activity or what but the city is being attacked, it may be Sindicate related, who else would unleash giant robots in the city?" Santana says.

"I think you're right about it being Sindicate related," Finn says. "It's a trick to get us all in the same place so she can release that drug on us."

"He has a point,"I offer.

"Agent Schuester saw them himself, Sue can't just fake giant robots."

"But control Freak can," Finn says.

"We don't have time to speculate whether we're being tricked or not, I wouldn't put something like this past Sue Sylvester," Santana says. " If it turns out this is real we'll never forgive ourselves."

She's right, giant robots really are Sue Sylvester's style.

"Okay," Finn says, "we'll go, but we're going to need gas masks, we have to protect ourselves."

"Deal," Santana says. "Time to go, there isn't much time."

* * *

><p>I've had this feeling, all day long in the pit of my stomach, it isn't morning sickness, I would kill for morning sickness, it's more like fear, maybe I can't see danger coming anymore, but I can still sense it. The feeling has been nagging at me since Finn left, now it's just me, alone in this cold cell wishing he were here again, he the only friend I have in the world anymore, the only one who can make this horrible feeling of dread go away.<p>

"You're going to burn for this Headcase," it's Tina, in the adjacent cell, and although I know she hates me right now, it's still a relief to hear her voice. "Do you really think your new friends are going to help you, they'll turn you over to the cops as soon as you get finished helping them screw us over."

"At least my baby will be safe," I say quietly.

"Your baby would have been safe if you would have done what you were supposed to, we would have protected her."

"If I would have killed Finn," I respond.

"I don't get it Headcase, why did it even require a second thought?"

"Because he's the father of my child, because I love him and I don't care if you understand it or not."

"I don't" she spits. "You sold me out, you betrayed me."

"You didn't give me any choice, just like Sue didn't give us one," I shoot back "All this time I've thought I was my own person, that was never true, she proved that to me today. I did what she's never allowed me to do... I decided, and I'm not going to make apologies for that now."

She remains silent at my words, maybe she understands, maybe she doesn't, I suppose it doesn't matter one way or the other.

"HC," It's Finn, he's come back, and I scramble up to my feet immediately to throw my arms around him, he looks frantic and his body feels tense, and that bad feeling in my stomach intensifies at the sight of him.

"What's happened?" I say as I hold him.

"HC, we have a problem."

**I'm sure you figured this out yourselves, but the first part of the chapter was from Jesse's POV, the second was from Puck's and the little part at the end was from Rachel's. A few Chapters left, we're almost there, and sorry to give you a chapter with so little Finchel interaction after such a long wait, but the next update should come a lot faster.**


	16. Trust

I saw this coming, I knew on some level that we were being tricked, but all anyone could think is _what if we weren't?_ What if we ignored Lima City when it needed us most, so we went, we headed straight into the nightmare Rachel warned us about, the gas masks only worked as long as it took for Control Freak to realize that he could use his powers to make it seem like they were on fire, even Santana couldn't stop herself from ripping it off at that point. When the delusion was over the streets were calm again, and we were all screwed, the gas works much faster than the diluted version Spirit injected into Rachel, Santana's hands were engulfed in flames within minutes, she put them out quickly, frantically, but two minutes later the fire came back. Mike started shaking, a tremor so fast it was like he was vibrating or something, and we all knew it was just a matter of time before he started running, not able to stop. Sam became immediately angry, then sad, then both at the same time. Quinn's lips turned a pale shade of blue as if she was starting to freeze from the inside. The only one who wasn't affected was me, and I can imagine the only reason control freak didn't take the chance to kill me was because Lima City was only a few short minutes away from going up in flames and I was right in the middle of it, I guess he figured he'd let my own team do the dirty work for me.

I narrowly escaped the chaos myself, and I have a fresh burn courtesy of Santana to prove it. Sam and Brittany only became dangers to themselves, so I brought them along, if I had tried to save Santana or Quinn I just would have ended up killing us all, so I swallowed hard and fled, knowing the only chance I had to save any of them was to get to Rachel as fast I can, she's the only one who can help me now, the only one who can help all of them.

I speed back to the headquarters, obsessively checking my rearview mirror all the while, both to look at Sam and Brittany, doubled over in agony, Sam from the array of intense emotions he's feeling at once, Brittany from the voices that are flooding her head with no rhyme or reason, and the city, already burning, I directed Agent Schue and the cops to start getting people out of there as fast as he could, even to contact the army if he had to, now I have just a few short hours until all hope is lost.

"We have to go back,"Sam sobs, his face a deep crimson. "We have to help them."

"We have to find the Sindicate headquarters, we have to get the antidote from Sue," I protest.

"You're such a goddamned coward!" he yells.

"That's the anger talking buddy," I say as calmly as I can manage. We reach the headquarters in record time, and I know there's no time to spare as I race toward Rachel, finding her in her cell, exactly where I left her. Predictably she throws her arms around me, and I hold her, but only for the shortest of possible moments, we have work to do.

"HC," I start, my voice shaking against it's will.

"What's happened?"

"We have a problem," I start to explain.

"Oh my god you're hurt," she says, a bit of panic in her voice.

"I'm always hurt, usually because of you, but that's not the problem, Control Freak gassed the Peace Patrol."

"What?" she, says, angrily. "how?"

"Lets just say mistakes were made on our part, but that's not what's important right now. We have to find that antidote, you're the only one who can get it from Sue."

"She doesn't trust me anymore, remember?"

"She will if you kill me, that's what she wanted right?"

"For the last time I refuse to kill you," Rachel argues. "Lima City can burn to the ground as long as you're safe."

"That's sweet... in a really evil sort of way," I tell her. "But don't worry, you don't have to kill me, we just have to make it look like I'm dead long enough to get what we need. I can't believe I didn't think of it before."

"How do you suggest we do that?" Rachel says skeptically.

"Well I know for a fact that Spirit can do more than turn invisible."

"Excuse me," Spirit scoffs from the adjoining cell "What makes me think I'll help you after what you did to me?"

"What choice do you have?" Rachel shoots back. "Do you really think that Sue's going to trust you anymore, you failed remember? If you want to die alongside most of the city once she rejects you go right ahead."

She simply remains silent at that point.

"Are you in or are you out?" I say. "You can stay here and mope or you can be on the winning team for once."

Finally Spirit relents, letting out a hard sigh. "Can't you just make more of those collar things?"

"No time," I explain.

She let's out another hard sigh and looks at Rachel, who gives her a desperate, pleading look. "Fine, what do you want me to do?"

"I know that you can possess other people, can you make it go the other way?" I ask her.

"You want to take over my body?"

"I just want to borrow it, I'll give it back, I swear."

"You're damn right you will," Spirit says darkly. "Your own body will be completely useless once I do this," she reminds me.

"Exactly," I say optimistically. "Let's save the world."

* * *

><p>I put Sam and Brittany in a safe place, assuring them that I'll be back for them, but for now I have to save my team, I have the long range tranq gun stashed in the car, ready to fill the darts with the antidote when the time comes, Rachel isn't as skilled behind the wheel as I am, but I know she's in no position to bark out directions to her secret headquarters, besides, if Spirit's going to suck the essence out of my body it's better she does it in the car. It's an odd feeling to say the least, feeling as if my very being is leaving my body, and it only gets weirder when I look in the rearview mirror and see a twenty something Asian woman staring back at me.<p>

"Whoa," is all I can manage to say as I look from the mirror to my own lifeless body lying next to me.

"It's a good look for you," Rachel jokes, even though I can still see the fearful look behind her eyes. "But if you think you'll be getting any in that body you can forget it, that's Tantrum's thing."

"It's going to be okay Rach, I promise." I say, a little alarmed at the new feminine sound of my voice.

"I know," she says, placing her hand on her stomach with the hand that's not steering, rubbing it in soothing circles.

I swallow hard as we pass the carnage in and around Lima City Square, the crashes, the fire, the screaming, I pray to god this works, it has to work or all hope is lost.

"So where is Spiritgirl exactly, can she still hear anything?" I ask.

"I don't know, as far as I know she's never let anyone borrow her body before, I didn't even know she could, I guess there's a lot about Spirit I don't really know, and I thought I had everyone figured out."

"Well, maybe after we fix this mess you two can hang out more," I joke, and she gives me a weak smile.

* * *

><p>I have always wondered what Sue's headquarters would be like, to tell the truth it's not so different from ours, but it's hard to focus on my surroundings when I'm dragging my own gigantic body over the slick floor.<p>

"Sue!" Rachel yells loudly, her voice echoing off of the vast walls. "Sue I need you now."

My blood freezes a little at Sue's presence as she urgently makes her way through the double doors, a panicked look on her face. I know I look like Spiritgirl right now, but I can't help but grow tense with fear.

"Headcase, Spirit, where the he'll have you been?" she barks.

"Doing our job," Rachel says, nodding towards my "dead" body.

"And is there a reason it took you more than twice as long as it was supposed to? We need your help fighting the newly evil Peace Patrol," Sue explains as she checks my pulse, confirming Rachel's words. "Lima City's in total chaos right now, which is great, don't get me wrong, but I need you two to keep things from getting too out of hand, how can I run a city if there isn't one left to run?"

I have no idea what Rachel plans to say, but I really hope it's good.

"I betrayed you Sue," she says, not what I was expecting. "I told Gadget about the drug, and I turned Spirit into the Peace Patrol, he gave me this power blocking collar and locked me up, and I was ready to go over to the other side, to leave behind my life of crime, because I just couldn't imagine a life where my baby didn't know her father, so I turned on you." there are actual tears in Rachel's eyes, and I really never appreciated what a dynamite actress she is "But it was all a trick, he was just pretending to be in love with me to get to you, and when he showed me his true colors I knew that I could never trust any of those capes ever again, so I killed him Sue, I did it, because you were right, you were right about everything and I'm so sorry."

"Oh Headcase, you sweet stupid girl," Sue says, affection in her voice as she takes Rachel in her arms for a hug. "of course I was right, but what matters now is that you're safe and you've come to your senses. But hey, I was young and dumb once, did I ever tell you about my Affair with Green Lantern Alan Scott in the 80's?"

"No," Rachel says.

"Another time then."

"I need the antidote Sue, you have to give me my powers back," Rachel says, getting back to the subject at hand,

"Of course," Sue agrees. "What use are you to me without them? We'll go to Dr. Smythe right away."

We follow behind Sue to the Scientist's private room, and as she marches in front of us Rachel reaches for my hand, squeezing it comfortingly, clearly noticing the look of terror on my face. When we reach the room I take a hard look at the lanky, pointy faced doctor, standing up from his seat to greet us.

"Headcase, good to see you," Smythe says. "Is it done?"

"He's cold as a frozen cucumber," Sue assures him. "Give her the juice Smythe."

He prepares a syringe with the antidote, and I keep an eye on where he stashes it, the next few minutes are vital. He wraps a tourniquet around her arm and injects her with the serum, and I breathe a silent sigh, happy that at least Rachel is safe for now, but we have to get the rest and I quickly have to think of a way to do it.

"Thank you Doctor," Rachel says gratefully, before swiftly and angrily snapping the young scientist's neck. Again, not what I was expecting.

"What the hell is the meaning of this?" Sue barks, and Rachel wastes no time before kicking the older woman as hard as possible in the face, knocking her down.

"Finn, cuffs," Rachel says frantically, and I hand them over, still speechless as she cuffs the dazed woman's wrists.

"Thanks for everything Sue," Rachel says as I scramble to gather the bottles of antidote. "You've taught me well."

**Two chapters and an epilogue to go! Stay tuned folks!**


	17. Fire and Ice

I wonder to myself silently why Finn, still in the body of Spirit, seems so thrown for a loop right now, so at a loss for words and action, then I realize where the conflicted look on his face is coming from. This marks the first time he's ever seen me kill a man. I'd imagine it would be traumatic for him, I didn't hesitate, not for a second before breaking Smythe's neck like a toothpick. This is the woman he fell in love with, a merciless killer, and I suppose when he didn't have to see it himself it was easier for him to believe that killing was at least a little difficult for me, it isn't though, not when it's men like Smythe. Finn flinches a little as I reach for his hand, and although I know he wants to pull it away I won't let him.

"It had to be done Finn," I say.

"We have to go," he replies a bit coldly, and I take one look back at my unconscious mentor before following Finn out of the lab.

We find his body right where we left it, cold as if truly dead, and he kneels down beside himself, placing a hand on the lifeless body until his essence is finally returned and Spirit is once again Spirit.

"We got the antidote," I explain, "We have to find the Peace Patrol before it's too late, the others won't be able to fight them off for too long."

"Thank you, for helping us." Finn says, clearly still a bit disoriented.

"No time for thanks, we have to go," Tina says, and with a bit of struggle Finn is on his feet again.

He loads the gun as he walks, not a moment to spare, three antidote filled darts for three rogue superheroes and three more bottles in his utility belt to help Simpatico, Chatterbox, and Kid Kinetic if we can find him, and as we pile into the car I know that he's still mixed up about what I did to Dr. Smythe, and still terrified about what he has to do now, and maybe about something else. Little does he know there's no way I'm letting him leave this car.

I remove my collar once we start driving and to my relief my powers don't seem to be even slightly out of my control, the antidote worked, it will work for all of them, even Kid Kinetic if we can catch him. And for the first time in hours I can finally explore the place I've always liked best, Finn Hudson's thoughts.

I swallow hard once I hear it, once I hear his thoughts about me killing Smythe, and whether I felt anything at all, and whether I would think it was alright to teach my daughter how to kill. And I wonder why he worries about that, as far as he knows he'll be there to raise her too, he does still believe that right?

"Smythe was a very bad man Finn," I say.

"We don't need to talk about this now," he says as he drives like a bat out of hell.

"Yes we do," I protest. "He deserved to die."

"And what makes that your call?" Finn shoots back. "You didn't know this man, not really... But that's just it isn't it? You have no problem killing people you don't know right? As long as there's a chance they're not perfectly innocent right?"

"Finn, you know what I do, you've always known."

He sighs deeply, and I'm somewhat surprised by what happens next, by his hand leaving the steering wheel and finding mine.

"I love you," he says, his voice a bit hoarse. "But you're going to be a mother, things have to change, no more killing okay?"

I smile at him warmly then, I really do love this man so much, maybe too much.

"Okay," I agree, squeezing his hand back. "No more killing. But if I come across someone like him again I can't promise I won't deliver a beating that'll make them wish they were dead."

"I guess that's a good enough compromise," he says defeatedly. And at that he pulls my hand up to his lips and kisses it softly.

"Gag me," Spirit says from the back, but I couldn't care less, because once again he's proven that his feelings are completely unconditional, if that isn't worth changing my evil ways for I don't know what is, besides, he's changed for me too.

We follow the chaos to the heart of Lima City and a lump forms in my throat when I realize that it's so much worse than any of us could have imagined, the overturned cars, the buildings up in smoke, the screams of terror, and I understand the impulse to scream as I see Tantrum engulfed in flames, flying through the air and blasting everyone in sight, I wonder where the others are, but I suppose I'll find them soon enough.

"You ready?" Finn says, his voice cracking.

"I am," I reply.

"Not you, Spirit," Finn corrects, and I shoot my gaze toward him as spirit nods and exits the car.

"wha-

"You can't come HC," he says with a pained expression.

"No, no you can't try to make me stay behind, I was going to make you stay behind."

"You have to protect our baby," he argues.

"Our baby will be fine Finn, it's you I'm worried about."

"I can take care of myself, but we're running out of time we have to-

"Finn you're going to die!" I finally shout, not able to keep it in any longer. And finally, if only for a moment, there's only silence.

"You're not in my future," I continue. "And if you don't stay here and let me fight them off it'll stay that way."

He doesn't look upset, or even scared, just sad really, and when he leans in to kiss me I can feel his lips trembling against mine.

"I know," he says brokenly against my mouth.

"What, how?"

"I saw the vision too remember?" he explains.

"Then that settles it, you can't go."

"HC, you know that I have to, I have to stop this, if the last thing I ever do is giving you and our child a future then I'll consider it a life well spent."

"But you can-

I can't get any more words in before he once again attacks my lips with his, sending thoughts of love and last goodbyes to me, knowing that I'm reading his mind like always, and I want to fight against it, but I can't, not even when I feel the cold metal clamping onto my wrists.

"I'm not letting you go out there," I argue again, my powers are back, I can make him stay if I want to, make him release me from the handcuffs, too bad there was one thing I wasn't counting on, and I can't dodge him quick enough before he fastens the collar around my neck once again.

"No!" I protest as he reluctantly exits the car, saying one final I love you before entering the war zone.

* * *

><p>I'm not going to survive this, I know as I race through the maze of flames and chaos. And I wish I had had time to say all of the things I wanted to say to Rachel, to our baby, but I like to think that she knows, I didn't want to admit it at first, that I didn't show up in Rachel's vision because I wasn't going to be in their future, but her saying the words confirmed what I didn't have the time to fear.<p>

I don't have the time now either. I have to find Santana first, I know she's the cause of most of this distress, her powers are the most dangerous. Fortunately the search is short lived, unfortunately the reason for that is the fireball she hurls at me almost immediately, sending me crashing backwards into a windshield. This isn't how it happens, this isn't how I die, I'm hurt, the wind is knocked out of me, I can taste blood and smell my own burning flesh, but I'm not dead yet. I find enough strength to roll off the car and dodge the next fireball she hurls my way and once I gather up the courage I take a good look at her. Her entire body is covered in flames, and I know she must be in horrible pain right now, judging by the sound of her screams alone, but she can't stop, she can't stop attacking, I'm just happy she's still alive at all.

I aim my gun for her, ready to shoot, but before I can I'm once again knocked on my ass, not by tantrum this time, but by Damage, I look up at him from my position splayed out on the gravel and he doesn't resemble himself anymore, he looks blank, like there's nothing behind those eyes but the urge to kill me, to kill everyone that gets in his way, I reach for the gun as he stares me down, but it's right out of the reach of my bloody fingers, he bends down to pick me up from the ground, bringing me up to face him, and I realize now that most of the civilians and cops are either injured, dead or have evacuated completely, there is no one else for them to attack. Of course that doesn't stop Santana from trying, I look behind Puck for long enough to see her flee.

"Damage you don't want to do this," I say with struggle. "This isn't you man, this isn-

Before I can finish my thought I've once again been hurled into a car, and this time it's much harder to get up, my whole body is already screaming in pain, but I have to ignore it, I spot the gun, it's not far, but he's not going to let me reach it, I can tell.

"Hey beefcake, over here." I look past him to see Spirit standing there, trying to distract him long enough for me to reach my gun, and I know if I don't move fast her efforts will be completely in vain. As he rushes toward her she disappears, and he stops, confused and angry, clearly not realizing that she's still there, only he can no longer see her, and as he stands there, aching for someone to pummel, I grab my gun and shoot it as fast as I can, and although my aim is somewhat impaired by being slammed into numerous cars, the dart reaches its target, sending him to his knees immediately. And I breath a sigh of relief that I made the gun strong enough to force the dart into his tough skin, I have to admit I was worried about that.

"Puck?" I say, coming up behind him cautiously.

"Quinn, where's Quinn," he says frantically, clearly remembering what happened

"I don't know," I respond, "You have to find her, I'll take care of Tantrum."

"Are you sure?" Puck replies, taking in the sight of my injured body

"Yes, go," I insist, and at that he flees, leaving me with one less problem to worry about. "Spirit, he's gone." She reappears then and meets my side.

"I have to find the others," she says. "they were supposed to be here, they were supposed to fight them off."

"They couldn't," I deduce, they're either hiding or-

"Spirit!" we turn our heads toward the source of the panicked voice interrupting us and I see where it's coming from, and a surge of panic shoots through me as well at the sight of Burt's Luxury auto, going up in flames, and I wonder for a split second just how far Damage and Tantrum threw me before I race toward the fire.

"you have to help me," the screaming man says, he looks a little younger than me, his skin is pale and his eyes are a clear blue, and from the look of his uniform I can tell that it's Warp, but from the look of his face without the mask and the look of anguish at the sight of Burt Hummel, trapped beneath a fallen beam as the fire spreads, I know that it can only be his son, Kurt Hummel. Kurt Hummel is Warp, and from the looks of him he's in pretty bad shape, we were right, the Sindicate was in no position to handle this.

"Come on, I think the three of us can lift it," I say, ignoring the pain in my body to help Spirit and Warp lift the beam off of Burt, and with some effort we manage to move it.

"What happened?" Burt says, coming to, disoriented by his fall, but still alive.

"It's okay," Kurt says, "you're going to be okay dad."

He turns his head toward me then. "Why would you help me?"

"I didn't," I reply. "I helped him, now you two find a safe place for him, I have to stop this."

They both nod once and I dart out of there, continuing my search for Tantrum, and hoping to god that Puck has found Quinn, if we can get her ice powers under control again then she can help put out these fires.

"Gadget!" I stop short at the sound of Puck's voice. And my heart sinks at the sight of Quinn in his arms, and the tears in his eyes. If she isn't dead already she's certainly in no position to help once I stick her with the antidote. She's completely covered in ice from head to toe, her skin blue, her lips purple, her eyes dead and frozen.

"What are we going to do man? She froze half of downtown Lima City, I found her laying in the middle of it all, is she dead? Tell me she's not dead."

"I don't know," is the best I can offer. "We have give her the antidote."

"How? Her skin is frozen," Puck argues, and I try to think of a solution and fast, and my eyes immediately go to the closest burning building nearby.

"Take her in there," I suggest. "just long enough to warm her up."

"She's not immune to fire," Puck protests.

"But you practically are, you can protect her, keep her away from the flames, but you have to go now."

He nods and rushes her inside, and I take the time to take in my surroundings, it's quieter here, and it's unnerving to say the least.

When Puck runs out with Quinn still in his arms she's still passed out but aside from her lips her skin is no longer blue and a thin sheen of sweat decorates her forehead.

"Do it, before she freezes again," Puck says, and I aim the gun and shoot, relieved when she returns to her normal color and her eyes begin to flutter open.

"Puck?" she whispers up at him, her voice hoarse.

"you're okay, I got you," he says, holding her tighter, and she smiles a weak smile up at him before she once again closes her eyes in exhaustion.

"Stay with her," I say, "I have to find Tantrum."

"No you can't," Puck protests. "We're okay now, we can help you."

I swallow hard then, and look down at the gaping wound decorating my torso.

"No, you can't help me," I say miserably. "But you can help Sim and Chatterbox, they're back at the headquarters, they need these to stay alive," I say, handing them the bottles of antidote, and Kid Kinetic is probably somewhere on the west coast by now but he's bound to tire himself out eventually, when he does Agent Schue can track him down and give him this," I say, giving Puck a third bottle. "Take care of HC, She's not the bad guy anymore, she's the mother of my child and I need you to promise me that you'll protect her."

"I would, you know I would but you can't just let yourself die."

"That's the thing," I start. "I died when Tantrum threw me against that car, I just couldn't let myself go, not before stopping her from burning the rest of the city to the ground."

"Gadget wait-

"Tell HC I love her!" I yell behind me as I once again run in the direction that Tantrum fled. My body is in no position for this, but I press on, the gun grasped firmly in my hand.

I stop short at the sight of her, my feet scraping across the gravel. She's no longer flying, simply standing there as I stand before her now, I can see flashes of her burnt flesh behind the flames, and I swallow hard as I lift the gun and she lifts her hand, ready to blast me into oblivion. This is it, this is how I die, I think to myself as I pull the trigger. I see it reach it's target, sticking her in the side of the neck as the blast of fire sends me flying backwards. I keep my eyes open long enough to see the flames covering her body disperse, leaving behind a vaguely human shaped mound of charred flesh. And the last thing I think about before they flutter shut is how my girls will be safe now, and that's all that matters.

**Please don't kill me, the story isn't over yet. One chapter plus an epilogue to go, stay tuned folks!**


	18. The New Defenders

"Just a little more, just a little lower," I tell myself as I struggle against the cuffs, trying desperately to reach the latch on the back of the collar, it's no use my hands are bound too tightly. I have to find another way out of this. I have to find a way to save Finn so I can beat the living daylights out of him. If only I can get this damn collar off, at least then I could know for sure that he's still alive. I try again, contorting myself in impossible ways to reach the stupid closure in back, once again failing, once again cursing at the top of my lungs. Goddamn you Finn.

I can't let myself cry, crying would mean admitting to myself that it's over, that there's no chance for him, I won't do it. I look out the window, trying to see what's happening, I'm far away enough from the danger to avoid any harm to myself or our baby, but I know I should still be able to hear the screams, but there are none anymore, Finn must have succeeded in stopping them, so why isn't he back yet? Something isn't right, and if I can't get myself free then there really will be no chance. I try once again to reach the keys in the back seat with my foot, but he left them just out of my reach, once again I exclaim in frustration, no closer to being free than I was before.

"Hello!" I start to yell at the top of my lungs, not sure what I hope to accomplish exactly, no civilian in their right mind would help me, my only hope would be to get the attention of the Sindicate, and god only knows what's become of them at this point, still I shout because I have no idea what else to do. "Hello! Is anybody out there? Can anybody hear me?"

My entire body jumps then as bloody hands attach themselves to the window with a loud thud, once I collect myself enough to get a look at their face I exhale in relief, sure Caterwaul will hate me once she finds out about Finn, but as far as I know she still has no idea.

"Headcase, where the hell have you been?" she pants, opening the door. I get a good look at her, her head is bloody and she looks thoroughly beaten and exhausted, but she looks as if she'll survive. "Is this Gadget's car?"

I nod vigorously, without hesitation. "That Neanderthal kidnapped me."

"I thought he was dead," she replies.

"No such luck," I continue. "It's like these capes have nine lives or something, but if you can get me out of this I can finish the job."

"I think we have bigger problems," Mercedes says. "We were supposed to defeat them not get our asses handed to us."

"I don't think Sue thought her little plan through," I say, shaking my head. "Come on, help me, the keys are in the backseat.

"He left the keys?" Mercedes asks suspiciously. Well it's not as if Finn was trying to trap me here forever, just long enough for him to get himself killed trying to save the city.

"There's no time for questions, we have to find him and make him pay for this."

She nods once and reaches into the back, grabbing the keys and quickly getting to work on my cuffs. I rub my wrists and unlatch the collar, relieved to finally be free to find Finn.

"Are you okay?" I say as we exit the car, noticing how she struggles to walk.

"I'll live," she sighs. "I just wish I knew what happened, everything seems quieter now doesn't it? I wonder why."

"He did it," I say under my breath, a small smile gracing my lips.

"What's that?"

"Nothing," I say, shaking my head. "What happened to the others?"

"Wiseguy is safe, Sue didn't think he'd be much use this time around with the wheelchair and all," Mercedes explains. "I have no idea where the others ran off to."

"Well I'm glad you're okay,"I say, reaching for her hand and squeezing a little.

"Are you sure we should be going back through here?" Mercedes says as we carefully reenter the heart of Lima City. It's difficult to tell whether we're safe or not, there's smoke everywhere, obscuring our vision, and the streets have become eerily quiet, the overturned cars seem like headstones lining the streets, I'm just as nervous as Mercedes, but I have to find Finn.

"I think it's okay," I say a bit hesitantly as we continue to walk, I focus my power on Finn, concentrating with all my strength to find him among the chaos, and coming up with nothing.

"Where are you Finn? Please, if you're alive out there just listen for my voice baby please, listen to my voice and tell me where you are." I repeat these words over and over, still hearing nothing in return. I won't cry, I won't accept this, there has to be a reason why I can't reach him, maybe he went back to his headquarters, but why wouldn't he come to me first?

"Headcase what's wrong? You're being all weird and distant," Mercedes says.

"Shh!" I whisper sharply. I can't reach Finn, but maybe I can reach one of the others, maybe they're with him right now.

"Damage where are you, where's Finn?" I say silently, projecting the thought into his mind, and at that I wait for what feels like a lifetime until finally I hear an answer.

"Headcase?" he answers. "How the hell are you doing that? I didn't know you could do that."

"You can fill an encyclopedia with things you don't know about me. Answer the question." I respond impatiently

"I don't know, he went after Tantrum and-

"He went alone? After he healed you?" I shoot back.

"He wouldn't let me help, I had to take care of Ice."

"Is she with you?"

"Yeah, she's here. We had to get the antidote to Sim and Chatterbox but we're back now."

"But you haven't found Finn," I say sadly.

"We're looking for him now but we have to put out these fires, the cops bailed. Headcase I-

At that I run, ignoring Damage and leaving Mercedes behind even as she shouts for me. I jump into the nearest operational looking car, finding the keys in the ignition and take off in no particular direction, I just have to find him. I notice the layer of frost that coats the buildings as I drive, not enough to freeze them but enough to put out any fires, it was Ice Queen, I look ahead for any fires, and see what I'm looking for a couple of blocks ahead, If Ice Queen hasn't put out the fires up ahead yet then that must be where Finn is.

"Finn!" I shout as I park and exit the car, entering the area surrounded by flame engulfed buildings, I look all around, until finally my eyes catch the sight of a badly burned corpse in the middle of the street. I tiptoe up to it, swallowing hard.

"Finn?" I say, my voice breaking as I tiptoe up to the body, and the first thing I realize is that it isn't a body, this person is somehow still alive, and the second thing I realize is that this person isn't Finn.

"Tantrum?" I say then, and she only groans a little in response.

"I've always hated you, especially now," I say. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to let you die, I just have to find Finn."

With great struggle she points, and I turn my head to the direction she's pointing, and when I see him my heart stops beating in my chest, his body has been slammed into the car with so much force that glass and metal surround his body, there are cuts and scrapes all over his face, and a gaping wound in the middle of his chest.

"Finn! No!" I exclaim as I run toward him. I cradle his face in my hands and press my lips to his still ones. "Please, please wake up, you have to wake up baby." I cry into his mouth as I stroke his hair. "You goddamned idiot why would you do this alone, why?" I told myself I wouldn't cry, that I wouldn't accept Finn's death, but now the tears won't stop as I hold his lifeless body in my arms.

"Finn you have to wake up, please," I cry, and at that I take his hand in mine and press it to my stomach. "You have to meet our daughter, you have to wake up."

"Headcase?" I didn't see them approach, I don't even know how they found each other or why they're here, and I don't care, I don't even care that they're seeing everything I've tried to hide from them for the last five years. "What happened?"

"She killed him," I sob, still cradling my fallen lover against me. "Tantrum killed Finn."

"Finn?" Kurt says confusedly. "Headcase, what is this?"

"She's in love with her arch nemesis, who's name is apparently Finn, surprise," Tina says a bit coldly.

"Hold up," Mercedes cuts in, "You knew about this?"

"Relax I haven't known for that long," Tina shoots back.

"Okay, I'm not even going to attempt to understand what's going on right now, Headcase we have to go, Sue-

"Sue Sylvester can burn in hell!" I snap, interrupting Kurt "I'm not going anywhere without him."

"You have to," Tina protests, her voice a bit more sympathetic. "He's dead."

I shake my head, refusing to accept it, still holding him tight, I won't leave him, not even if Kurt pries us apart with his power-

"Wait," I say, my gaze shooting toward Kurt. "You can heal him."

"what?" Kurt shoots back in disbelief. "Are you crazy?"

"Clearly," Mercedes, says angrily. "how long have you been tapping Gadget's sweet ass behind our backs?"

"I don't care what any of you think about me right now," I say sharply. "All I care about is saving him, heal him Warp, now!"

"Don't you dare," Mercedes argues.

"I know you can," I say, ignoring Mercedes.

"I can't heal the dead," Kurt says.

"You can try," I insist.

"And what if I don't?" Kurt spits.

"You won't live to brag about your strength of will," I say, raising my hand up, and at that he backs away in fear, thoroughly aware of what I'm capable of.

"You wouldn't," he replies in disbelief.

"I would," I shoot back. "In a heartbeat."

"Warp just do it," Tina argues. "What do you have to lose?"

"If I can't do it she'll just kill me anyway," Kurt argues back.

"Maybe, but if you can you'll live to fight another day," I reason. He still doesn't look convinced, and we're running out of time. Finn's body is still warm, if he's still alive even just a little, Kurt can heal him, and he will, I'll make sure of it.

"Think about your dad Warp," Tina says, looking at him seriously, and finally I know that he's made the right decision. I hold Finn tighter as Warp Lets out a low sigh and tentatively places his hand on Finn's wound and my eyes widen as I watch him channel all of his power into mending Finn's badly burned flesh, my eyes then go to Kurt, I've never seen him strain this hard before, his face is going bright red and a large vein is popping out of his neck and his whole body is shaking as he heals Finn's broken body, not removing his hand until Finn's chest is once again smooth and unblemished, all traces of Tantrum's attack completely gone. Tina and Mercedes both run to Kurt's side as he collapses, but my focus remains on Finn, his face is still scratched up but his body is healed, Kurt did it, now all he has to do is wake up.

"Finn?" I say, shaking him a little. "Finn, come on, come on wake up."

Nothing.

"Come on you're healed now, you're okay, he healed you, you have to wake up."

Still nothing.

"Finn!" I yell then, so loud I can almost put Caterwaul to shame, but I can't help it as I quickly unravel.

"What?"

It's so faint that I almost can't make it out right away, and his eyes are still closed, but I can feel it, I can feel him breathing.

"Finn?"

"Rachel?" he says, his eyes finally fluttering open, and I can't contain the relief that fills me as I look into his warm chestnut eyes again, and I can resist the urge to kiss him all over his scratched up face and his chapped lips and hold him to me so tight that he couldn't get away if he tried.

"Don't ever scare me like that again Hero boy, do you hear me?"

"What happened?" he says, his voice still tired and weak.

"Tantrum killed you, but Warp, he saved your life, I had to threaten him but he did it and you're okay now."

He looks at me, confusion in his eyes, but before long his lips turn up in a small smile.

"You just couldn't leave well enough alone could you?" he teases.

"Never," I insist, and I press my lips to his again, feeling him kiss me back this time.

"This is by far the biggest mind fuck I've ever witnessed," Kurt says.

"Warp," I say, breaking the kiss and turning my attention toward Kurt. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, no thanks to you," he answers coldly.

"How's Burt?" Finn asks then.

"He's safe...sort of thanks to you," Kurt says. "I never thought that you of all people would turn out to be one of us."

"I'm not," Finn argues.

"That's for damn sure," my blood runs cold at the sound of her voice, I knew that I'd have to deal with her eventually, I just hoped it wouldn't be now, but as she appears through the smoke I hold Finn closer, protectively, and he holds me back.

"Isn't this sweet?" Jesse says, appearing beside Sue, he must have been the one to set her free. "You have a knack for cheating death Gadget. think we're going to have to fix that."

"Don't you dare touch him!" I protest.

"Oh Headcase, you had so much potential," Jesse says. "What happened?"

"She's a ruined woman, in more ways than one," Sue says. "And to think I went through all that trouble killing your dads all those years ago, and for what?"

As she says it Finn's grip on me tightens, and I can't tell if it's a comforting gesture or if he's trying to keep my rage in check, but if it's the latter it doesn't work, I've never felt such anger in all my life before, all of those years I was brought up to believe that I was responsible for the death of my parents, When all along it was her, Sue Sylvester killed my parents.

"You Bitch!" I yell, breaking free from Finn's tight grip on me, rushing up to her, not even fully comprehending the lengths I'll go to to destroy this woman, but I don't make it very far, it feels as if my feet have been cemented to the ground and no matter how hard I struggle I can't reach her.

"What is this?" I say angrily, trying to move.

"You didn't think I'd come unprepared this time did you?" Sue says, smirking. "Before you snapped my little scientist's neck I had him cook me up a nifty little drug of my own, he was always quite useful to me, he even allowed me to protect myself from each and every one of your powers. You see the problem with keeping a whole slew of pet metas on hand is that sometimes you just can't keep them from peeing on your carpet. First you betray my trust by letting this one put his superbastard in you, then the rest of you can't perform a task as simple as taking down a group of out of control superheroes that I handed to you on a silver platter. Who can I trust here but myself?"

"Well me for one," Jesse insists. "I'm the only one here who actually did his job."

"Don't worry kid, I know a good flunky when I see one'" Sue responds.

"What are you saying Sue?" Kurt says.

"I'm saying the rest of you, are all fired," Sue says, at she raises her hand then knocking all of us off of our feet at once, and I crash into Finn, who holds me tightly to him, he's still weak, but he fights against it, standing up and shielding me with his body.

"Rachel get out of here," he whispers behind him.

"Not without you," I protest. He doesn't have time to argue, as Sue knocks us on our feet yet again. I look down at Finn, already so weak from fighting Tantrum, his eyes are once again closed as he lays beneath me, I check his pulse, it's faint but there, and I hate to think it but it's better this way, he would never stop trying to fight her, and after the number done on his body he's in no position to.

"It's okay Finn, I'll be right back okay," I whisper, I then press my lips to his and stand back up to face her.

"You really think you can beat all of us?" I say.

"Oh I know I can kiddo," Sue answers back confidently. I look at my fallen allies, stunned at Sue's betrayal, I have to admit that even I'm shocked, I always knew she was evil, but I never thought for a second she was the one who killed my parents.

"Oh yeah, what about us?" and before I can see who said the words I feel a blast of cold air shoot past me and make it's way toward Sue, but she dodges it with her newfound ability, sending it right back at Ice Queen, nearly freezing her from head to toe before Damage can pull her out of harm's way. The others take turns attacking once they finally process the fact that Sue turned on them, but she deflects their efforts with no problem, and I can't tell what delusion Jesse is putting into their heads right now but they are all collectively freaking out over something. This is bad, very bad.

"You don't get it do you?" she chuckles as they're rendered helpless by her and Jesse's powers. We can't attack anymore, the only option is to think, think really hard. "right now the city doesn't trust any of you as far as it can throw you, you just caused millions of dollars in collateral damage which I will gladly offer my hard earned money to fix, right after I rid this city of you once and for all. Looks like I get to be the hero after all."

"You don't know the first thing about being a hero," I shoot back.

"And I suppose you do?" Sue replies.

"Maybe not," I say shrugging. "But I'm a fast learner."

I keep my mask of confidence on, but the truth is I wasn't prepared for any of this, neither were any of them, but I can't let it end this way, we can't let it end this way. I refuse to raise my child in a world where she's allowed to run things, I've spent too many good years in that world. I put my hand on my stomach, she's fine, I can feel her, maybe a little too much, I'm not sure what she's doing right now, but it hurts, a lot, and now really isn't the time.

"Come on baby be nice to me," I grunt, doubled over.

"One of Lima City's most fearsome villains, rendered useless by morning sickness," Sue teases, but at the corner of my eye I notice something, something moving, a very large something.

"It's not morning sickness," I explain, a smirk on my face. "I think you just pissed off my baby." She doesn't have time to dodge the car crashing into her then, the car my baby has just moved with her mind from the womb. I think I can get used to this pregnancy thing.

"What did you do?" Jesse yells, the shock of Sue being knocked on her ass distracting him long enough to drop the delusion, freeing the others.

"That does it," Kurt says, panting. "This bitch is going down."

"Looks like someone already beat you to it," Tina says.

"Not sue, him," Kurt corrects pointing at Jesse, and before Jesse can collect himself long enough to create another delusion Kurt uses his power to tighten the silver chain around his neck, choking him, sending him to his knees.

"Kurt, stop," I say. "You don't want to do this."

"What are you talking about, you were just about to kill me'" he says, still choking Jesse, not letting up.

"I was never going to kill you," I explain. "I had to say that to save Finn, you're my friend Kurt, and you're better than this. I know you're angry, I know you've been angry ever since your mother died, but this isn't the way, I know that now."

At that he deflates, releasing Jesse and making him collapse.

"What the he'll happened to you?" Kurt says, narrowing his eyes at me.

"I fell in love with the wrong guy, it just so happens he turned out to be the right one," I say, looking behind me at Finn, still motionless on the ground.

"Is he going to be okay?" Kurt asks.

"He'll be fine," I assure Kurt.

"So," Damage says, limping up to me, his arm around Ice Queen "What happens now?"

"Lets hope that-" I don't get a chance to finish my thought, because the next thing I know Jesse is right in my face, holding me by the shoulders, his eyes furious, my first instant is to attack him right back, because how dare he try anything after I saved his miserable life, but then I realize the look on his face isn't angry, it's pained, and I look down as I feel the blood pour down the front of me, and I look down to see the spike that has impaled his body.

"I wasn't going to let her kill you," he says, blood pouring out of his mouth. "The rest, maybe, but not you. I would have worked something out, I would have fought for you." he falls to his knees then, dead, and I see Sue, still under the car, weak, raising her hand at me, that spike was meant for me.

"Oh Jesse," I say, tears springing to my eyes at the sight of the evil man who's last act was saving the life of me and my child. And I then turn my head toward Finn, finally coming to, standing up to approach the badly injured Sue.

"I'm sorry I had to miss seeing you get crushed by a car," Finn says, breathing hard, and I'm guessing he sees the manhole cover floating in the air, the object she's once again trying to attack one of us with, because he punches her hard in the face then, knocking her out and sending it to the ground with a clang.

"Finn," I say, rushing up to him, throwing my arms around him and kissing him like my life depends on it. "Are you alright?"

"Not really, I kind of feel like I died a little bit." he says somewhat jokingly. "But I will be alright."

I press his hand to my stomach again and attach my forehead to his, I need to know, I need to know that I stopped it.

"Rach," he says, a beaming smile on his face and tears in his eyes as I free him from the vision, the vision he's finally a part of.

"You're right," I say, my own voice choked up. "You _will be alright_

* * *

><p>A week has passed since the attack on our city, and I'm still convinced that they don't quite know what to do with us just yet, the Sindicate, including Rachel is being held in the Peace Patrol's personal cells, while we haven't been allowed to leave our own headquarters since the attacks. Tantrum is still in medical, recovering from her burns, so is Kid Kinetic, who was found three days earlier on an uncharted island off the coast of Australia, Rachel's powers being the only thing capable of locating him. And now, after a week of speculation and worry, all of us, well the able bodied Peace Patrollers at least, are in the meeting room, and Agent Schuester and agent Anderson are in front, clearly recovering from their own injuries suffered in the attacks.<p>

"Well we're going to give it to you straight," Schuester starts. "The public is scared to death of all of you."

"But we were drugged," Quinn argues. "It's not like we were trying to attack the city."

"Everyone knows that," Anderson cuts in. "And they also know how you all banded together to stop it, including the Sindicate, who considering Sue Sylvester's life imprisonment, are now without a home."

"What are you getting at?" Damage says.

"What I'm saying is that we have one hell of an asset on our hands, but they need to be rehabilitated."

"What makes you think the Sindicate can be rehabilitated?" Quinn argues. "The only reason any of them helped us is to save their own asses."

"Maybe, but I'm sure that helping fight for the greater good is a better alternative than rotting in prison along with Sue for the rest of their lives," Schue reasons. "The fact is most of them are products of Sue's brainwashing, not to mention the fact that she strategically murdered the parents of several of them in order to convert them to her side."

"Besides, they aren't the only ones who need to be rehabilitated," Anderson adds. "We all need to learn a thing or two about what it means to be heroes if we want to regain Lima City's trust. I have to admit that I'm at fault here too, we relied on you too much, stood idly by while you got sloppy because we were so convinced that you'd always be there to save the day, it wasn't until you became the enemy that we realized we all have to work together when it comes to protecting this city.

"So what does this mean exactly?" I ask. "For all of us, I mean, am I still off the team?"

"After what you did for us, not a chance," Schue says. "We need you Midnight Man, you're the perfect example of why metas can't become complacent, you never know when your powers can hurt you just as much as they can help you."

"You called me Midnight Man," I say, a bit of a smile on my face.

"That's your name isn't it?" Schue says with a smirk.

"So we're just going to let those criminals join the Peace Patrol now? That's insane," Quinn argues.

"They'll still be considered prisoners until they can prove themselves otherwise," Anderson explains. "It'll be up to all of us to make sure that they do. And you're not the Peace Patrol anymore, we need to change our image."

"If we're not the Peace Patrol then who are we?" Damage says. and Schue smirks a little, clearly proud of what he's come up with.

"The New Defenders."

* * *

><p>She's sitting in the middle of her cell, cross legged, deep in concentration, ever since she learned that she can subconsciously control the baby's powers she's been practicing non-stop to control them consciously, just in case the baby decides she wants to move something that shouldn't be moved. She appears to be getting better at it, I think as she makes her bed from across the room.<p>

"Hey," I say, knocking on the glass, and she smiles over at me, getting up from her position on the floor.

"Hey you," she says, walking up to me, pressing her hand to the glass. "Am I still public enemy number one?"

"Only for now," I assure her. "I think the agents have come up with something that will work for all of us."

"I know, I heard," she says, pointing to her temple.

"What do you think?"

"I think if I want to stay out of jail I don't have a choice," she says, shrugging. "But I guess there are worse things than being part of your team, as long as they don't try to change me, or you. You're perfect just the way you are Hero Boy, even if you are a moron who got himself killed."

I smile at her warmly. "what else can you do with those powers while you still have them?"

And she looks up at the security camera, making it turn itself around to face the wall, and then down at the lock on the door, slyly, causing it to unlatch itself.

And the door opens then, and I know they'll kick me out once they get wise to it, but we still have now.

"Come here Hero Boy."

_Stay tuned for the epilogue folks!_


	19. Epilogue

I wanted to post this yesterday in honor of The Dark Knight Rises (which was made of excellence BTW) but time makes fools of us all, anywhoo enjoy the epilogue guys.

"Lug nut," I say, holding my hand out to allow the tool to float into my hand, not looking up from my work. "Wrench," I continue, my helper once again moving the instrument to me, "Thanks Marls," I say with a small smile.

"Dad, this is so boring, is this all we're going to do all night?" Marley complains as I work on Burt's Rolls Royce,

"Not all night, you have to be in bed by ten," I tease "Besides, you wanted to come."

"Why can't I go with you to your real job?" she pouts.

"This is my real job," I say, continuing to my task. "It's the only shred of normalcy I have, trust me when you get older you're going to appreciate boring stuff like this."

"That's what mom always says too," she continues defeatedly.

"Your mom's a smart lady," I reply.

"Why don't you just admit that you don't think I can handle it?"

"You're nine, of course I don't think you can handle it," I remind her "Besides, you have so much growing up to do, you need to enjoy it while you still can."

I can't count the number of times I've had this conversation with Marley, she's stronger than most girls her age, smarter, she was trained to be, but she's still such a little girl in so many ways, she thinks boys are stupid, she goes ape over anything involving a cute animal, and she's so anxious to grow up that she can't appreciate all of the great things about being a kid. When I think sometimes about her mother, about the childhood she never got to have, it makes me want it for Marley that much more, so even though I have to deal with her pouting every time Rachel or me goes out on our secret missions, I know that one day she'll thank us.

"I just don't see the point of all of the practice and training if I can't use it," she argues.

"Your time is going to come kiddo, besides, you may not be old enough to fight the good fight yet but this family will always have enemies, you need to know how to protect yourself if anything happens, but that doesn't mean I'm going to bring you into the danger. I love you too much."

I can't help but notice a smile almost reaches her lips, one she quickly tries to hide.

"You're such a dork," she says affectionately.

"Is she giving you a hard time again?"

I hear Rachel's voice in my head then and I smile a little, and I can tell that Marley hears it too by the somewhat embarrassed look on her face, I can't imagine her teenaged years are going to be smooth sailing with a mother who can read her mind and listen to her conversations, we've talked about having boundaries with her, and for the most part she sticks to them in ways she'll never do with me, but every once in awhile she just can't help it.

"Nothing I can't handle, what are you up to babe?" I answer her.

"Not much sadly," She replies. "No cats stuck in trees tonight."

"Well if you want I can keep you company up there, I'm almost done here."

"What about Marley?"

"Yeah, what about Marley?" Marley cuts in, annoyed.

"Well Burt should be back any minute, I'm sure he wouldn't mind looking after her for awhile."

"Because he's a rich old man who needs more to do, I still say you should set him up with your mom, they would be perfect together." Rachel says.

"When Hell freezes over and she actually decides to move here then we'll talk, I can't even get her to stop begging me to leave this life behind and go back to a quiet life in the country," I remind her.

"Well I know for a fact he's thinking about buying a vacation home there," Rachel says. "Thinking seriously."

"What have I told you about reading Burt's mind?" I say sternly.

"I used to do it all the time when I would steal from him," Rachel explains. "I like it in there, Burt Hummel has very nice thoughts."

"Yeah, yeah," I tease. "So Marls, what do think, you don't mind hanging out with uncle Burt for awhile do you?"

"No, he always let's me levitate us all the way to to ceiling, and that's a high ceiling."

"Well it's settled," I tell Rachel. "I'll meet you up there in a bit."

* * *

><p>Ten years ago none of us would have ever thought that joining forces with the Sindicate would have ended up being a good idea, but every time a villain falls more tend to rise in their place, especially in Lima City, when Sue went to jail, others surfaced, and we needed all the help we could get. Ten years later things still aren't perfect, they probably never will be, but we fight on. And somehow through it all we've become friends, or superfriends as Rachel teasingly still calls us.<p>

"Hey there Hero boy," she says as I meet her on the rooftop, the one we've always called our own.

"Hey," I reply, taking a seat next to her. "What's on your mind?"

"Marley," she says, expectedly. "Do you ever wonder if we made the right decision, raising her here instead of where you grew up?"

"I did have a great childhood," I admit. "But so does she, it's why I try so hard to protect her from this life, let her be a normal kid for awhile."

"Well, she's not exactly normal Finn, the last time she had a nightmare she launched you out of our bedroom window."

"Well, normal enough," I revise.

"I sometimes wonder what would have happened if she would have been raised by Sue, if she would have succeeded in getting me back."

"She would have had it a lot harder," I admit. "But she would have been okay I think, the good in her runs too deep for Sue to have ever destroyed it, she's like you."

"I'm just happy she doesn't have to grow up like me, too fast, even if she thinks she wants it."

"That's not just Marley Rachel, that's all kids, that was me."

"She's a little of both of us," Rachel says with a small smile. And we sit in silence for a few blissful moments, looking out over the city skyline the way we used to.

"Hey, do you know what day it is?"

"No," I reply. "I didn't forget something you're going to be pissed at me for did I?"

"No, it's the tenth anniversary of the New Defenders," she explains.

"No, that's next month, we weren't officially a team until September 4."

"I know that, but this is the day we all fought together to bring down Sue, the day Ice and Damage decided to stop being stupid and love each other, the day Kurt made peace with his father, the day Santana stopped hating you, ten years ago today was the day our lives all changed forever."

"Yeah, you're right, it is," I agree, finally remembering it with fondness instead of sorrow, it was a dark day but it led to so much good that I can't help but think of it any other way, but then I see the sad look on her face and I reach out to squeeze her hand, as always, I don't have to be able to read her mind to know what she's thinking. "You still think about him sometimes don't you?"

"It's hard not to," she admits. "He saved my life, and I never even got to thank him, if only he would have had a chance like the rest of us."

"He loved you Rachel," I say, squeezing her hand. "He died proving that, he died a hero."

"I know," she says, nodding. "I just wish I would have known more about who he was, I wish I would have taken the time to know, he was my friend but it wasn't until he died that I realized I didn't know him at all. It just makes me think sometimes, that's all."

I lean in, kissing her softly until I feel her smile against my lips. As always it doesn't take much to turn her mood around.

"Headcase, there's a disturbance in city square I need your assistance," I hear Kurt's anxious voice through Rachel's communicator and I break the kiss, standing up immediately alongside her.

"We're on it," Rachel says.

"We?" Kurt asks confusedly. "is Midnight there?"

"Always," I respond, and I pull her into my arms so we can descend the roof together.

**That's all folks!**


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